Stepfather
A father by marriage rather than by birth — a paternal presence introduced into an existing family shape.
A stepfather in a dream is the dream's image of a paternal presence introduced into an existing family shape. The role is real but it was not the original design; the dream brings the figure when an authority — in a household, a workplace, a community — has stepped into the slot of father without being the father. A stepfather who is steady and present is the dream telling you the role is being honoured by the person filling it. A stepfather who is absent or hostile is the dream noting that the slot has been formally filled and is still functionally empty, and the original absence has not been answered.