Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to a system or society controlled by men: Describes a social structure where men hold primary power and authority, particularly in roles of political leadership, moral authority, and control of property.
   • Characteristic of a male head of a family or tribe: Pertaining to a man who is the father and head of a family, lineage, or clan, with descent and inheritance typically traced through the male line.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The company's patriarchal culture made it difficult for women to advance to senior positions.
  • In a patriarchal society, family names and property are traditionally passed from father to son.
  • He assumed a patriarchal role, offering advice and making decisions for the entire extended family.

Advanced Usage

• "Patriarchal norms": The established, often unspoken, social rules and expectations that uphold male dominance.
  • The film challenges patriarchal norms by portraying women as independent leaders.
• "Patriarchal authority": The power and right to command, traditionally vested in the male head of a family or community.
  • The king's rule was based on a system of patriarchal authority.

Variants and Related Words

• Patriarch (n): A man who is the head of a family, tribe, or community; a male religious leader.
  • The village patriarch settled all major disputes.
• Patriarchy (n): A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.
  • Feminist theory often critiques the structures of patriarchy.
• Patrilineal (adj): Relating to or based on relationship to the father or descent through the male line.
  • Their patrilineal inheritance system meant only sons could inherit land.

Synonyms

• Paternalistic: Relating to a system where an authority restricts the freedom of others in a fatherly manner for their supposed good.
• Male-dominated: Controlled primarily by men.

Antonyms

• Matriarchal: Relating to a system of society or government controlled by women.
• Egalitarian: Believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• "Patriarchal dividend": The advantages men gain as a group from the subordination of women in a patriarchal society.
• "Challenging patriarchy": The act of questioning or opposing the norms and structures of a male-dominated social system.

Adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of a man who is older or higher in rank
2. characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line