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figurehead Definition

figure·head (figyər hed′)

noun

  1. a carved figure on the bow of a ship
  2. a person put in a position of leadership because of name, rank, etc., but having no real power, authority, or responsibility

figurehead Synonyms

figurehead

n.

titular head, nonentity, cipher; see nobody 2.

figurehead Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • carve: If battles are not your scene, then upstairs are some beautifully carved figureheads, which have probably seen a great many oceans.
  • become: In the subsequent fifty years he was to become a figurehead for the growing Pentecostal Movement, leading missions all over the world.
  • need: But if Wales is to really establish itself worldwide, we will need a rather more convincing figurehead than Rhodri.
  • have: We also have the figurehead of the Terra Nova in our collections.
  • see: I saw the most wonderful figureheads, that had all been far over the ocean.
  • remain: Mao remained the figurehead of what was still a relatively popular regime.

Adjective modifier

  • original: He showed Andy photographs of the ship's original figurehead which had been taken in his father's workshop, some 60 years earlier.
  • new: The Royalists in England had a new figurehead in the north.
  • female: The last part of his talk mentioned that while working on a particular female figurehead he unusually took deliver of another.
  • political: I also believe that an artist can have more of an impact on society as a whole then any politician or political figurehead.
  • national: All that's left is the relic, the national figurehead.
  • powerless: Anyhow, they lost allot of power in teh 19thC, and 20thC, and are now powerless figureheads.

Modifies a noun

  • role: The only defect in the mulattoes ' scheme was Christophe himself, who refused to be content with his figurehead role.
  • leader: Part of their attraction for Washington may be that they can take the role of the figurehead leaders of a post-Saddam Iraq.

Noun used with modifier

  • ship: We have been working with the group on a project inspired by ships figureheads.
  • industry: Throughout these formative years MY peers went on to become key industry figureheads.
  • merchant: After the lecture Richard took course participants on a tour of the " Cutty Sark " to view its large collection of Merchant Figureheads.

Possessives

ship: He showed Andy photographs of the ship's original figurehead which had been taken in his father's workshop, some 60 years earlier.

Preposition: of

movement: But he's also the figurehead of a general garden industry movement.

Preposition: for

movement: The figurehead for this new movement is emerging in the unlikely shape of a fat, bearded George Clooney.

Browse dictionary entries near figurehead

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