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
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Recent Examples of grande dame
While the facade of the stately building drawing inspiration from the grande dame Ritz Paris is unchanged, the interiors have been reimagined with opulence, and in true Nemacolin fashion, lots of whimsy.
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Katie Chang, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
At the Black Cow coffee shop in downtown Croton, McDonald sips an iced matcha latte and considers the Roses who have come before her, a litany of Broadway’s one-name grandes dames: Ethel, Angela, Tyne, Bernadette, Patti.
—Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2024
Technically, LuPone, a grande dame of the American musical theatre, is playing Robyn, a mysterious New Yorker who is moving into Sharon’s spare bedroom.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024
In Integrated Ecosystem Burnett, also a Grammy and Tony winner, portrayed Norma in Apple’s Palm Royale, the grande dame of Palm Beach high society and keeper of secrets with more than a few of her own.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for grande dame 
Katie Chang, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
At the Black Cow coffee shop in downtown Croton, McDonald sips an iced matcha latte and considers the Roses who have come before her, a litany of Broadway’s one-name grandes dames: Ethel, Angela, Tyne, Bernadette, Patti.
—Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2024
Technically, LuPone, a grande dame of the American musical theatre, is playing Robyn, a mysterious New Yorker who is moving into Sharon’s spare bedroom.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024
In Integrated Ecosystem Burnett, also a Grammy and Tony winner, portrayed Norma in Apple’s Palm Royale, the grande dame of Palm Beach high society and keeper of secrets with more than a few of her own.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 17 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for grande dame
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Cite this Entry
“Grande dame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grande%20dame. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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