as in networks
a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially
that clique refuses to even talk to outsiders at their lunch table
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cliques
This graph had no cliques — clusters of nodes that are all connected to one another.
—
Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 28 Jan. 2026
What began as a search for community and understanding turned into an experience that felt akin to the cliques and social hierarchies of high school.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 25 Jan. 2026
These internal cliques, or deputy gangs, which have been tied to specific LASD precincts, have names like the Banditos, the Grim Reapers, and the Regulators.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
At the Dallas Street property, small cliques of armed men, mostly Venezuelans and Mexicans, fought an ongoing turf war.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
And there's hierarchy and cliques and clubs and all these different things.
—H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Even today, Heathers' spin on cliques, teen suicide, and homosexuality still has bite.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The film, set at a suburban Chicago high school, stars Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall as five teenagers from vastly different cliques who spend a life-altering Saturday in detention.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
Enid introduced Wednesday to the social scene at Nevermore — the four main cliques being Furs, Fangs, Stoners and Scales.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 28 Jan. 2026
What began as a search for community and understanding turned into an experience that felt akin to the cliques and social hierarchies of high school.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 25 Jan. 2026
These internal cliques, or deputy gangs, which have been tied to specific LASD precincts, have names like the Banditos, the Grim Reapers, and the Regulators.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
At the Dallas Street property, small cliques of armed men, mostly Venezuelans and Mexicans, fought an ongoing turf war.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
And there's hierarchy and cliques and clubs and all these different things.
—H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Even today, Heathers' spin on cliques, teen suicide, and homosexuality still has bite.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The film, set at a suburban Chicago high school, stars Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall as five teenagers from vastly different cliques who spend a life-altering Saturday in detention.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
Enid introduced Wednesday to the social scene at Nevermore — the four main cliques being Furs, Fangs, Stoners and Scales.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliques
Noun
-
These elements are vital to electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, medical imaging systems, fiber-optic networks, and military technologies.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The totals announced on Tuesday included viewership from the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL+.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Some religious communities bar menstruating women from common living areas, said Ahsan.—
Sana Noor Haq,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Participants often come from various backgrounds, playing different styles of mahjong, such as Taiwanese, Filipino, Singaporean and American (commonly associated with Jewish communities), which — unlike other the styles — uses a card that is issued annually to set the winning hands for each year.—
Grace Hwang Lynch,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The year is 1961, and the jazz legend (played flawlessly by Norway’s Anders Danielsen Lie) is firmly in the grip of a raging heroin addiction, having acquired a taste for the destructive street drug made inexplicably romantic in postwar boho circles.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The experiment caused a stir among economists and political scientists and people in finance and business circles.—
Suzy Khimm,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Located some 60 miles north of Los Angeles near the city of Lancaster, California, Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve draws crowds from mid-February through early May to marvel at this state park’s California poppies.—
Cu Fleshman,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Feb. 2026
-
This weekend, Super Bowl crowds are descending on San Francisco for the first time in ten years—and the timing couldn’t be more apt.—
Julia Black,
Vanity Fair,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
While the public record does not include explicit names or locations, blockchain forensics firms are often able to associate addresses with certain crypto exchanges or criminal gangs.—
Carlos Garcia,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The men who spoke to NBC News, as well as the families of former detainees and their attorneys, strongly denied any ties to gangs and said they were unfairly targeted because of tattoos that may be popular in Venezuela and are unrelated to Tren de Aragua.—
Gary Grumbach,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Delivery apps, freezer-aisle wing packs and an explosion of sauces have all helped drive demand, Kostyo said.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Remember when Valentine's Day meant buying packs of Fun Dip and Sweethearts attached with thoughtful notes for everyone in your class?—
Kylie Petty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Ten clans or more gather at the end of the movie.—
Ingrid Schmidt,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Some of those clans have since dwindled or decamped for more populated areas.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Last Witch Hunter, about the one man who stands between humanity and the most horrible witch covens imaginable, grossed $130 million at the worldwide box office at the time of its initial theatrical release in 2015.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
-
By then the witchy girl was everywhere, forming outcast covens in The Craft, fighting supernatural baddies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, all grown up and empowered to destroy abusive boyfriends in Practical Magic.—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
10 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Cliques.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliques. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
