grandes dames
Respected elder women
Grandes dames is the plural of grande dame, a French borrowing for a woman of considerable social standing, influence, or achievement within a particular sphere.
The term suggests dignity, authority, and often age: the grandes dames of Hollywood, grandes dames of the literary world.
It carries a note of respect, though sometimes with gentle irony about formality or self-importance.
- arbitersThose who settle disputes
- noblewomanFemale of high birth
- matriarchFemale family leader
- aristocratPerson of noble birth
- doyennesSenior female members
mentor · refinement · good breeding · elegance · sophistication · heroines · poise · patrons · philanthropists · charity gala · grace · tastemakers · damehood · mothers · lace · elder · dowagers · old money
grandes damesingenues
Naive young female characters
debutantes · newcomers · novices · neophytes · greenhorns
grandes damesnobodies
Unimportant, unknown persons
riffraff · hoi polloi · commoners · parvenus · arrivistes
grandes dameswallflowers
Timid party attendees
nonentities · small fry · underlings · minions · subordinates
grande, dame, dames, grand, grandly, grandeur, grandness, grander, grandest