Definitions

elder statesman

NOUN

influential person

Synonyms

WEAK

elder important person mentor national leader starets wise old man

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.

Letterman is enjoying his elder statesman status with an interview show on Netflix, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” that he makes on his own schedule.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

Howard Wilkinson, now 82 and a long-time elder statesman of the game, was the last Englishman to lift the title with Leeds United in 1991-92, but in the league's previous guise as the First Division.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

Sir John Major is now the elder statesman among them.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025

Guided by his wife, Sharon, who was his manager and steadying force, Osbourne reinvented himself in the 1990s as an elder statesman of heavy metal.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025

It was used in reference to some nice old poopy elder statesman who’d made a fortune in the stock market and then gone to Washington to be an adviser to President Roosevelt.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger