Figurehead definition

fĭgyər-hĕd
figureheads
Frequency:
A person put in a position of leadership because of name, rank, etc., but having no real power, authority, or responsibility.
noun
2
1
(nautical) A carved figure on the prow of a sailing ship.
noun
0
0
(by extension) Someone in a nominal position of leadership who has no actual power; a front or front man.
noun
0
0
A carved figure on the prow of a ship.
noun
0
1
A person given a position of nominal leadership but having no actual authority.
noun
0
1
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A carved figure on the bow of a ship.
noun
0
1

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
figurehead
Plural:
figureheads

Figurehead Sentence Examples

  • They were not so contemptible at the time, because England and Ireland were full of adventurers who were ready to back any cause, and who looked on the king of the moment as no more than a successful member of their own classa base-born Welshman who had been lucky enough to become the figurehead of the movement that had overturned an unpopular usurper.

  • That the theory of the triple manifestation of the deity was indeed only a compromise between Brahmanical aspirations and popular worship, probably largely influenced by the traditional sanctity of the number three, is sufficiently clear from the fact that, whilst Brahma, the creator, and at the same time the very embodiment of Brahmanical class pride, has practically remained a mere figurehead in the actual worship of the people, Siva, on the other hand, so far from being merely the destroyer, is also the unmistakable representative of generative and reproductive power in nature.

  • When the truth was discovered, a revolution in heaven occurred; God is now a doddering figurehead and another angel reigns.

  • But if Wales is to really establish itself worldwide, we will need a rather more convincing figurehead than Rhodri.

  • She is the figurehead, relying on her popularity to aid in the marketing of the perfume.

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Words near figurehead in the Dictionary