The meaning of ÉMINENCE GRISE is a confidential agent; especially : one exercising unsuspected or unofficial power. How to use éminence grise in a sentence.

An éminence grise or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity.

someone without an official position who has power or influence over rulers or people who make decisions: Civil servants are the ones who really have the power ...

éminence grise. A person who wields power behind the scenes: “The king's brother-in-law is his éminence grise; he has enormous influence, though he is rarely ...

A person who wields power and influence unofficially or behind the scenes.... Click for pronunciations, examples sentences, video.

A person who exercises power or influence in a certain sphere without holding an official position. The term was originally applied to Cardinal Richelieu's ...

The term refers to du Tremblay's influence over the Cardinal (who bore the honorific of Eminence), and the colour of his habit. Pronunciation ...

noun. Definition of éminences grises. plural of éminence grise. as in elder statesmen. the senior member of a group the revered éminence grise of Civil War ...

Earliest known use. 1830s. The earliest known use of the noun éminence grise is in the 1830s. OED's earliest evidence for éminence grise is from 1838, in ...

(French) a person who exercises power or influence in certain areas without holding an official position.