godfather Hear it!

godfather Definition

god·father (gädfä′t̸hər)

noun

  1. a male godparent
  2. a man who acts as an advisor or mentor to someone
    1. Informal the head of a Mafia family or syndicate
    2. Slang any person having much influence or authority in some area

godfather Synonyms

godfather

n.

sponsor, elder, patron, adoptive parent.

godfather Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • become: Sunday, I became a proud Godfather to Liam Richard Southall.
  • call: Billy could rightly be called the godfather of contemporary media art.
  • see: Millions of Americans went to see The Godfather that doesn't mean we all want to be gangsters or that we worship them.
  • watch: I need to actually watch the godfather some time.

Adjective modifier

  • spiritual: From the CD title, can I assume that Woody Guthrie is the spiritual godfather of this record?
  • intellectual: Indeed, Kant could be viewed as the intellectual godfather of cognitive science.
  • true: Born in Michigan in 1948 the one-time Vincent Furnier is thought of by many to be the true godfather of rock.
  • original: The spiritual value is the real parental blood i.e. , descending from the original Godfather.
  • local: It is these people who cannot speak out because of the fear of the local godfathers who we must speak up for.

Modifies a noun

  • status: Since Giancana had godfather status, he could solicit Trafficante's help to eliminate Castro.

Noun used with modifier

  • fairy: He wondered if she saw him as her fairy godfather, whisking her away from her wicked stepfather.
  • mafia: If Devine is the dignified mafia godfather, Williams is the thrusting young Al Pacino, all furious self-righteousness.

Possessives

  • child: Joe McCarthy, the controversial senator from Wisconsin, was asked to be the child's godfather.

Preposition: of

  • soul: Typical examples are Tina Turner who has more of a rock voice and the godfather of soul ' James Brown ' .
  • art: Billy could rightly be called the godfather of contemporary media art.
  • punk: Stencils have always been a part of this scene and were often used by bands such as the godfathers of anarcho punk Crass.
  • music: I hear that you play also with the godfather of minimal music, Terry Riley.
  • rock: What's a poor godfather of shock rock to do?
  • genre: How does it feel to be godfather of a whole genre of music?
godfather Quotes

Always a godfather, never a god!

—Woollcott, Alexander Humphreys

Browse dictionary entries near godfather

  1. goddess
  2. goddaughter
  3. Goddard
  4. goddamned
  5. godchild
  6. Godavari
  7. Godard
  8. God's acre
  9. God-given
  10. God-fearing
  1. Godforsaken
  2. Godfrey
  3. godhead
  4. godhood
  5. Godiva
  6. godless
  7. godlike
  8. godliness
  9. godling
  10. godly