paterfamilias
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:
He believes that this number accounts for roughly 3,000 individuals, because in many cases it was only the paterfamilias who was recorded in inscriptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
This strict minister paterfamilias disapproved of his violist son, and in the wake of loss, Davis finds solace in music and womanly identity, slowly healing from estrangement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2025
There were meant to be so many rebels that they could be split into 'five families', a label that even one paterfamilias privately lamented "makes us look ridiculous".
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023
The current paterfamilias, Michel, who’s in his mid-60s, has been cooking his whole life, and while you could say he makes food, it feels more like an expression of love.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
And nor did I mistake for long Pierrot, much shriveled and with a shining pate I wanted to put my hand on, but still twinkly as ever and very much the paterfamilias.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
![]()
It is the so-called decent people, the noble paterfamiliases, the irreproachable husbands, the loving brothers.
From Yama: the pit by Guerney, Bernard Guilbert
These dreams of bliss, put into facile verse yet adorned with a certain poetic gravity, caused some anxiety among the paterfamiliases.
From The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 by Palacio Vald?s, Armando
Jhabvala’s early fiction sauntered into middle-class Hindu households and wryly took the measure of their dramatic capacity: shy newlyweds and demanding mothers-in-law, pompous patresfamilias, feckless sons, and snooping aunties.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
Only Bryce Gill as the good brother and, at times, Philip Goodwin as various patresfamilias rise above the blustery racket that engulfs the rest of the seven-member cast.
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2011
And what do our patresfamilias, the officials, the wives and daughters, do in such cases?
From The Possessed (The Devils) by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Isn't it rather the fault of the audience, of your respectable residents, your patresfamilias?
From The Possessed (The Devils) by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Vocabulary lists containing paterfamilias
Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Roman Republic, Lessons 3–4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!