1
: of or relating to a clan
clannish traditions
2
: tending to associate only with a select group of similar background or status
a clannish community
clannishly
adverb
clannishness
noun
Examples of clannish in a Sentence
The college faculty can be pretty clannish, so it's difficult to be an outsider there.
a clannish family that can be rather cool to outsiders
Recent Examples on the Web
The flood of immigrants who settled in the area were a motley crew – clannish Scandinavians, Germans, Irish Catholics escaping famine, Yankees from New England, Black refugees from the segregated South, Mexican workers seeking a better life.
—
Harry Boyte, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
Musk’s companies have always been financially linked to one another in a clannish sort of way, but the reality is: All these AI startups and companies are investing in and selling to one another.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Jews, because human beings are and always will be clannish.
—David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
This sort of soft, clannish corruption is not a coat of paint that can be stripped from the protectionist architecture; the dysfunction infests the very foundations of it.
—David B. McGarry, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clannish
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Harry Boyte, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
Musk’s companies have always been financially linked to one another in a clannish sort of way, but the reality is: All these AI startups and companies are investing in and selling to one another.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Jews, because human beings are and always will be clannish.
—David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
This sort of soft, clannish corruption is not a coat of paint that can be stripped from the protectionist architecture; the dysfunction infests the very foundations of it.
—David B. McGarry, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clannish
Cite this Entry
“Clannish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clannish. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clannish
adjective
clan·nish
ˈklan-ish 
: tending to associate only with a group of persons like oneself
clannishness
noun
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