statesman
Americannoun
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a person who is experienced in the art of government or versed in the administration of government affairs.
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a person who exhibits great wisdom and ability in directing the affairs of a government or in dealing with important public issues.
noun
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a political leader whose wisdom, integrity, etc, win great respect
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a person active and influential in the formulation of high government policy, such as a cabinet member
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a politician
Synonym Usage
See politician.
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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statesmanshipnoun
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stateswomannoun
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superstatesmannoun
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statesman-likeadjective
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statesmanlikeadjective
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statesmanlyadjective
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unstatesmanlikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of statesman
First recorded in 1585–95; state + 's 1 + -man, modeled on steersman; compare the phrase ship of state
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Ridiculous” is C.K.’s way of letting the world know that when you brush aside his Teflon-coated fame and elder statesman standing, the 58-year-old star is really just old and exhausted.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
“I think that united us even more,” said winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who spoke eloquently in English postmatch, a gracious statesman in Adidas sneakers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Cook morphed into the closest thing the corporate world has to a statesman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
"Craig was my mentor, wise counsel, passionate advisor, and great friend. He was the distinguished elder statesman with a reservoir of Olympic knowledge and experience which he shared willingly and to great effect," Coe added.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
It was a great honor for Fort Hare to play host to a man acclaimed as a world statesman.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
If Gandhi elevated the hunger strike into a moral weapon, BR Ambedkar, one of India's greatest statesmen, was deeply sceptical of it in independent India.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
And during that time, he grew from wunderkind into one of the game’s elder statesmen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
The elder statesmen of proto punk isn’t just another act on the Coachella bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Compare them to the grizzled, huffy statesmen who previously played those roles, especially in the 2002 ITV adaptation.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
In addition to seeming eternal, ubiquitous, protean, and endlessly quotable, Franklin had the most sophisticated sense of timing among all the prominent statesmen of the revolutionary era.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
