chieftainnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈtʃiːf.tən/us/ˈtʃiːf.tən/the leader of a tribe
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
People in charge of or controlling other people
- administrator
- authority
- bureaucrat
- chairman
- chairperson
- force
- giant
- guiding spirit
- headman
- helicopter parent
- hierarchy
- kingmaker
- leader
- marshal
- operator
- overlord
- paymaster
- pillar
- powerhouse
- presidency
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Examples from literature
- Both parties, under the chieftains' guidance, fought fiercely, in a fever of excitement, giving no heed to wounds, seeing nothing but the foe and the battlements to be scaled.
- He was a powerful chieftain, and there was an old feud between him and the men of Chester.
- He was straight American stock, but he was built like the chieftains of old Hawaii.
- Possibly they were intended to mark the graves of deceased chieftains.
- The messengers found the Saxon chieftains very ready to enter into Alfred's plans.