as in dean
the senior member of a group
the elder statesman of the White House correspondents is finally retiring after nearly a half century of service
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Recent Examples of elder statesman
Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the governing Labor Party, has not been arrested or charged.
—
Sylvia Hui, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2026
Yet the overriding feeling of Light-Years is of two elder statesmen who still have gifts to share.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
The game’s elder statesman Of course, 29 is much older than 21 — especially in college hoops.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025
On a day when the last remaining Israeli hostages returned home after two years in captivity, and both Israelis and Palestinians celebrated the end of the Israel-Hamas war, many of America's elder statesmen and stateswomen kept mum.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elder statesman
Sylvia Hui, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2026
Yet the overriding feeling of Light-Years is of two elder statesmen who still have gifts to share.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
The game’s elder statesman Of course, 29 is much older than 21 — especially in college hoops.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025
On a day when the last remaining Israeli hostages returned home after two years in captivity, and both Israelis and Palestinians celebrated the end of the Israel-Hamas war, many of America's elder statesmen and stateswomen kept mum.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elder statesman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elder statesman
Noun
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Mike McDonald, who graduated from Bellarmine in 1957, was the dean of the group, with 1960 Notre Dame graduates Marilou Cristina and Colleen Block providing more than equal representation for the women’s side.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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The performance also comes as Shelly Berg, the dean of the Frost School of Music, prepares to retire in May.—
Megan Fitzgerald,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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As an elder, Mellencamp often jokes about how many tours he was fired from in his salad days, usually because the headlining acts (KISS, REO Speedwagon, British hard rock act Rainbow) and their audiences didn’t take to his kiss-off attitude and misfit energy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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Warnings to ethnic minorities in the hills of northern Thailand to avoid using river water are painful for the Lahu, who are famed as fisher people, said Sela Lipo, 56, a Lahu elder.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The front office also faced growing concerns about whether Reese’s presence would deter the signing of returning veterans and key free agents the Sky had targeted.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Two Patriots veteran free-agent additions, outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, addressed the media on Thursday as the offseason workout program wrapped up for the week.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elder statesman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elder%20statesman. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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