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.

But Nvidia is now in the odd position of having to play elder statesman, if only to temper some of the wilder views about AI.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

After his historic run of presidential campaigns, Jackson went on to position himself as an elder statesman within the Democratic Party.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026

Even Nick Saban, the sport’s elder statesman, pronounced it all but dead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

Mr Morrison described Mr Adams as "an elder statesman".

From BBC • May 9, 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