as in communities
a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially
that clique refuses to even talk to outsiders at their lunch table
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Recent Examples of cliques
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
And that's where little cliques were formed.
—Kate Hogan, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024
Today, though, even the most exclusive of these maritime cliques embrace their surrounding communities, whether through wildly popular race weeks, youth sailing programs, or taking the helm on sustainability issues.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2024
When and why do girls start forming cliques?
—Hannah L. Schacter, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2024
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
And that's where little cliques were formed.
—Kate Hogan, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024
Today, though, even the most exclusive of these maritime cliques embrace their surrounding communities, whether through wildly popular race weeks, youth sailing programs, or taking the helm on sustainability issues.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2024
When and why do girls start forming cliques?
—Hannah L. Schacter, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliques
Noun
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As lieutenant governor, Duncan backed policies expanding healthcare in rural communities and helped pass the state’s first hate crimes law.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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Each year, millions of tons of red mud accumulate worldwide, threatening communities with river contamination and storage disasters.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Grand Teton National Park shines in the fall with golden aspens, dramatic peaks, and a break from summer crowds.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
-
The Lebanese restaurant was a hit in the neighborhood from the outset and was perpetually packed, with crowds of people waiting for a table.—
Shivani Vora,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This creates a need to expand collection networks, boost consumer participation and design for textile-to-textile recyclability.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Broadcast and cable networks like CNN did show some of the footage, but stopped the images and ran only audio, with the sounds of those in the crowd screaming.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The roots of anti-fascist activism can be traced to a period just after World War I when German and Italian leftists came together and fought against fascist gangs.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Home invasions, vicious biker gangs and a rag-tag task force looking for a group of thieves after a young child goes missing.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Frampton is adored in Irish boxing circles as a gritty fighter who claimed belts in two divisions without ever straying far from his working-class roots.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Since Kirk's death, there has been a debate in conservative circles about his relationship with and stance toward Israel's leaders.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To keep auditors happy without grinding delivery to a halt, generate evidence packs straight from your PLM and CI/CD pipelines.—
Ranganath Taware,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Two people were suspected of stealing packs of alcohol.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Yet the unit also targets dissenters and those, including various clans, some backed by Israel, that dare to defy Hamas’s rule.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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His death effectively ended the O’More as one of the major Irish clans.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The United States has suspended some funding for its flagship AIDS relief program, according to international organizations and members of Congress who warn the cuts are already hurting patients and halting critical projects globally.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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According to Anthropic, the company behind Claude, a hacker used its artificial intelligence chatbot to research, hack, and extort at least 17 organizations.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cliques.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliques. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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