father substitute

American  

noun

Psychology.

1. a male who replaces an absent father and becomes an object of attachment.

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Etymology

Origin of father substitute

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

He didn’t regard Collins as a father substitute, but as a friend, despite their thirty-year difference in ages.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Authority always makes the governed inferior and dependent; the man with a father complex cannot stand alone; he must always flee to his father or father substitute when he meets a difficulty.

From A Dominie in Doubt by Neill, Alexander Sutherland