DOYENS Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

doyens

noun

plural of doyen

as in veterans

a person with long experience in a specified area considered the doyen of American art critics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in deans

the senior member of a group he's the doyen of American museum directors, and his opinion has considerable weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 doyens One of the doyens of Portuguese coaching, who has managed each of the big three in their home country and led Al Hilal to the title in 2023-24 after a 34-game unbeaten streak, was personally convinced by Ronaldo to cross the divide. — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 21 May 2026 Murray’s focus on tax measures in his quote may dampen expectations that the Labour government is about to improve the high-end TV tax credit, which industry doyens have been calling for for some time now. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026 These are simple places, sometimes shacks, but all lively and serving great food cooked by formidable doyens, grandmothers such as Lu. — Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for doyens

Noun

Kevin Mayer, the Candle co-founder, has also lamented that digital creators are the future of Hollywood, which could put pressure on some of Candle’s holdings, which have tended to rely on Hollywood veterans like Witherspoon.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026
There are more training programs, money is going towards new creative voices, and successful veterans are seeing their biggest and boldest ideas backed with the capital to make noise.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of veterans

Noun

On Friday, deans and faculty in academic regalia processed into Alumni Park, where the Trojan Marching Band accompanied the national anthem as temperatures climbed toward the 90s during the nearly two-hour ceremony.

— Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
The university says that Glover, in his position as executive advisor, will work with the gamut of university leadership, including the president, provost and college deans.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of deans

Noun

Fawn Youngbear-Tibbetts, the group's executive director, said then that recordings of elders' stories on old tapes were likely melted.

— Eric Henderson, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Ethnographic accounts from native elders describe how during unique warm-water events in late summer, people voyaged out at night into the fjords, aided by natural bioluminescent plankton.

— Torben Rick, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of elders

Browse Nearby Words

doyennes

doyens

doze

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Doyens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doyens. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of doyens

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes