statesman
Americannoun
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statesmen
plural
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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:
Now they have just one player in his 30s: That’s 30-year-old Kevon Looney, who smiled at the thought that he is suddenly the elder statesman of the team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Sowing behind-the-scenes stories about how he’s actually approaching it like a responsible statesman could play to his advantage.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
In a villa on the Bay of Naples, a dying general and statesman, only 50 years old, begins to record his extraordinarily eventful life in the short time left to him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The club have mainly targeted players aged 20 and under from abroad, having already recruited Jaouen, Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba, so Hornicek will feel like something of an elder statesman in comparison.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The great German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe later marveled at how easily she moved back and forth between art and science, between the “inspection of nature and the aims of painting.”
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
The 19th-century statesmen gathered at Vienna to stabilize Europe in the aftermath of Napoleon’s ravaging.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026
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
Military heroes can be depicted on horseback clutching the accoutrements of war, statesmen shown gesturing dramatically in mid-oration, and saints and clerics rendered awash in revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The elder statesmen of proto punk isn’t just another act on the Coachella bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
I was introduced to the Irish chap’s friends and we formed a “gang” of Irish, Jewish, and Negro wits who poked fun at government, the masses, statesmen, and political parties.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
