dowager
noun
dow·a·ger ˈdau̇-i-jər 
1
: a widow holding property or a title from her deceased husband
2
: a dignified elderly woman
Synonyms
- dame
- grande dame
- matriarch
- matron
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The estate is owned by a wealthy dowager. the town's dowagers frequently shake their heads over the younger generation
Recent Examples on the Web Stoic, soft-spoken horticulturalist Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) earns a peaceful living tending to Gracewood Gardens, a vast, ornate Southern estate owned by wealthy dowager Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). 
Guy Lodge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2022 In a restrained and beguiling performance, Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, the sprawling botanical estate of the wealthy dowager, Mrs. Haverhill, chillingly inhabited by Weaver. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 Violet is a type Fellowes knows well, but even though some of his other characters—like Christine Baranski's Agnes van Rhijn on The Gilded Age—have some similarities, he's told T&C that Downton's dowager stands alone. Elizabeth Holmes, Town & Country, 29 May 2022 Smith has portrayed the dowager countess, Violet Crawley, a character who has become best known for her devastating zingers and obsession with maintaining tradition at Downton. Eliana Dockterman, Time, 20 May 2022 Until February 1952, the dowager queen outranked her granddaughter. Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2022 Even Maggie Smith's dowager countess would have good things to say about them. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 22 Jan. 2022 Sigourney Weaver stars as the estate’s wealthy dowager, Mrs. Haverhill. Manori Ravindran, Variety, 2 Nov. 2021 The podcast, which at five years old is practically a dowager of the medium, is not interested in breaking tabloid news. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 31 May 2021 See More
Guy Lodge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2022 In a restrained and beguiling performance, Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, the sprawling botanical estate of the wealthy dowager, Mrs. Haverhill, chillingly inhabited by Weaver. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 Violet is a type Fellowes knows well, but even though some of his other characters—like Christine Baranski's Agnes van Rhijn on The Gilded Age—have some similarities, he's told T&C that Downton's dowager stands alone. Elizabeth Holmes, Town & Country, 29 May 2022 Smith has portrayed the dowager countess, Violet Crawley, a character who has become best known for her devastating zingers and obsession with maintaining tradition at Downton. Eliana Dockterman, Time, 20 May 2022 Until February 1952, the dowager queen outranked her granddaughter. Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2022 Even Maggie Smith's dowager countess would have good things to say about them. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 22 Jan. 2022 Sigourney Weaver stars as the estate’s wealthy dowager, Mrs. Haverhill. Manori Ravindran, Variety, 2 Nov. 2021 The podcast, which at five years old is practically a dowager of the medium, is not interested in breaking tabloid news. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 31 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle French douagiere, from douage dower, from douer to endow — more at endow
First Known Use
1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing dowager
dowagers
noun
as in matrons
a dignified usually elderly woman of some rank or authority the town's dowagers frequently shake their heads over the younger generation Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- matrons
- dames
- matriarchs
- mothers
- mistresses
- grandes dames
- grande dames
- headmistresses
- moms
- mammies
- mamas
- grandames
- mammas
- grandams
- mas
- mommas
- materfamiliases