patriarchal

[pey-tree-ahr-kuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR patriarchal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to a patriarch, the male head of a family, tribe, community, church, order, etc.: my father's conservative, patriarchal ways.

characteristic of an entity, family, church, etc., controlled by men: the highly patriarchal Mormon church.

Sometimes pa·tri·ar·chic, pa·tri·ar·chi·cal.

Related formspa·tri·ar·chal·ly, pa·tri·ar·chi·cal·ly, adverban·ti·pa·tri·ar·chal, adjectivean·ti·pa·tri·ar·chal·ly, adverbqua·si-pa·tri·ar·chal, adjectiveun·pa·tri·ar·chal, adjectiveun·pa·tri·ar·chal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for patriarchal

Contemporary Examples of patriarchal

And yes, that authoritarian, patriarchal guru-power structure, invariably, always leads to abuses.
Is India’s Fallen ‘God-Man’ So Different From a Megachurch Pastor?
Jay Michaelson
November 21, 2014
In a patriarchal society—our society—a naked woman is a dangerous thing.
A Respectable, Non-Exploitative Story About Kim Kardashian’s Bare-Naked, Greased-Up Ass
Amy Zimmerman
November 13, 2014
It seems that, in doing away with patriarchal authority, we have also, perhaps unwittingly, killed off all the grown-ups.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Sept 8-14
John Boot
September 14, 2014
Never mind that the patriarchal belief system woven throughout the cartoon content is itself shockingly outdated.
Juvenile Misogynist Seth MacFarlane Is Not Funny
Amy Zimmerman
June 3, 2014
Because marriage is a patriarchal, sexist institution that should be discarded rather than reformed.
Were Christians Right About Gay Marriage All Along?
Jay Michaelson
May 27, 2014

Historical Examples of patriarchal

She, too, seems determined to make me the patriarchal leader of a band.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Existing marriage is a pernicious survival of the patriarchal age.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
It is a part of the patriarchal custom which regards women as property.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
It was the portrait of an old man with a beautiful forehead and a patriarchal face.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
I had never before and have never since seen such a patriarchal figure.
The Woman Thou Gavest Me
Hall Caine