éminence grise

American  

[ey-mee-nahns greez] / eɪ mi nɑ̃s ˈgriz /

noun

plural

éminences grises

1. gray eminence.

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éminence grise British  

/ eminɑ̃s ɡriz /

noun

1. a person who wields power and influence unofficially or behind the scenes

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éminence grise Cultural  

1. A person who wields power behind the scenes: “The king's brother-in-law is his éminence grise; he has enormous influence, though he is rarely in the public eye.” A French term meaning “gray eminence.”

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Usage

What does éminence grise mean? Éminence grise is a term for a person who wields power in an unofficial capacity or who influences things behind the scenes, mostly or completely out of public view.The term is usually used in the context of politics and is typically applied to someone who wields power through another person who holds an official position. The term often implies that the éminence grise is doing this secretly or in an unauthorized or otherwise shadowy way.The term is most often applied by the media or by those who are critical of such influence.Éminence grise comes from French and literally translates to “gray eminence,” which can be used as a synonym, though this is less common. (The spelling grey eminence is also used.)The plural of éminence grise is éminences grises.Example: The press is calling him an éminence grise and implying that he is the one orchestrating things behind the scenes.

Etymology

Origin of éminence grise

From French

Example Sentences

Relied on by oil company CEOs and government policymakers alike, the EIA’s data has been called the “gold standard” by Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global and an éminence grise in the world of oil.

From Salon

Alexander Hamilton, by then a New York lawyer who still played the president’s éminence grise, wanted Washington to exit as he entered: a unifying figure optimistic about the “infant nation.”

From Slate

The case could hurt prosecutions in an epic bribery scandal implicating five former presidents and Keiko Fujimori, the eminence grise of Peruvian politics and a perennial presidential candidate who came within a hair of winning the job in 2021.

From Seattle Times

Asked in a 2020 interview if he would ever make new work, he balked and then said exactly what you would want the éminence grise of the avant-garde to say: “We are living in decadent times, surrounded by nothing but trash.”

From New York Times

Sunday night at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre global impact award, a sort of éminence grise prize.

From New York Times