authority figure

American  

noun

1. a person whose real or apparent authority over others inspires or demands obedience and emulation.

   Parents, teachers, and police officers are traditional authority figures for children.

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Example Sentences

There’s almost no authority figure or august body in our society in which most people have confidence.

From The Wall Street Journal

This has been helped along by the fact that there are swaths of Americans who consider themselves Christians, but who don’t interface with traditional authority figures when it comes to faith.

From Salon

Many young professors ceased to come across as authority figures, but presented themselves as contemporaries of their students, all but equals.

From The Wall Street Journal

Caught in the grip of challenging sociopolitical backdrops, his magnetic and brooding men — whether bold authority figures, conflicted everyday guys, notorious outlaws or those in positions of power — represent an affront to the status quo.

From Los Angeles Times

At other moments, when authority figures challenge her, she pushes right past them as if they weren’t even there.

From Los Angeles Times