Results

Definition of figurehead : 1. A person who allows his name to be used to give standing to enterprises in which he has no responsible interest or duties; a nominal, but not real, head or chief.
2. The figure, statue, or bust, on the prow of a ship.

Synonyms:

presence, front line, straw man, front man, front, bird-scarer, scarer, battlefront, movement, scarecrow, nobody, strawman, social movement, forepart, nonentity, nominal head, cipher, front end

delegate, ghost, emissary, mouthpiece, auxiliary, arm, helpmate, assistant, assignee, spokeswoman, deputy, backup, alternate, nominee, stand-in, substitute, double, lieutenant, acolyte, dummy, agent, representative, proxy, second, servant, envoy, spokesman, attendant, token, surrogate, appointee, attorney, helper, understudy, aide

Usage examples:

• What a grotesque figurehead she looks, chum, doesn't she? - "Winding Paths", Gertrude Page.
• What you want is a putty man, a figurehead. - "Lefty Locke Pitcher-Manager", Burt L. Standish.
• With her wet hair uncoiling to the floor, she looked as if she had served, herself, for a fateful living figurehead, like her mother before her. - "The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story", Various.