Definition of grande damenext
as in dowager
a dignified usually elderly woman of some rank or authority the city's grandes dames still hold considerable sway in its cultural life

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grande dame Baros Maldives is the grande dame of resorts in the archipelagic country. — Ann Lee, TheWeek, 24 Aug. 2026 Hollywood Beach Resort, the century-old grande dame with a storied history, is now a vacant relic that appears to be heading toward a more cosmopolitan fate. — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026 Some are centuries-old grande dames; others are boutique newcomers. — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 23 July 2026 If the Marbella Club is the grande dame of this Andalusian resort town, Puente Romano Marbella is its younger, friskier sister on the Golden Mile. — Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for grande dame
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grande dame
Noun
  • The show’s underpinned by the differences in character and country of Lady Cora and her formidable mother-in-law, the dowager Countess Violet Crawley, played by the equally formidable and much missed Dame Maggie Smith.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 22 July 2025
  • The empress dowager’s legacy Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power.
    — Stephanie Balkwill, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The driver and bus matron apparently bypassed the daycare location and mistakenly dropped Ka'Mylah somewhere in between, and the child navigated her way home on her own.
    — Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • An extremely unattractive teenage girl who resembled a forty-year-old matron in a women’s prison rather than a young woman fresh on the road to self-discovery approached me.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Simon took the campy photographs in the same Hilton hotel where Moore’s children awaited their mother, and the images make up what the wall text calls a MooreWrap cruise-collection look book.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Rahadian says he was drawn to a story of motherhood told through children whose mother was missing from their lives, set in a moment when a person’s citizenship could be taken away suddenly, by force and without warning.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Grande dame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grande%20dame. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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