1
as in clique
a small group of people who exercise control over a country, business, etc.
Critics complain that the government is now dominated by an oligarchy of wealthy businesspeople.
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2
as in empire
government that is controlled by a small group of people
The nation was an oligarchy with election results manipulated to maintain a permanent ruling class.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of oligarchy
The Guardian: Republicans want a corporate oligarchy.
—
Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
Even in a new age of oligarchy where the rich are openly proclaiming themselves above the needs and laws of normal people, and even with obvious parallels to the Sacklers, the Leopolds manage to be generically monstrous instead of resonantly so.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025
These are to monopolies as oligarchies — rule by a few — are to monarchies.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2025
This oligarchy is now free to serve their own interests and maximize earnings with government contracts and favorable policies.
—Linda Thompson Gonzalez, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
Even in a new age of oligarchy where the rich are openly proclaiming themselves above the needs and laws of normal people, and even with obvious parallels to the Sacklers, the Leopolds manage to be generically monstrous instead of resonantly so.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025
These are to monopolies as oligarchies — rule by a few — are to monarchies.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2025
This oligarchy is now free to serve their own interests and maximize earnings with government contracts and favorable policies.
—Linda Thompson Gonzalez, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oligarchy
Noun
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His attorneys have said in filings that the Westerns clique — according to the Justice Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office — is based on Long Island, New York, a state where Abrego Garcia has never lived.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
18 Apr. 2025
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As Dan Humphrey, Badgley played the Brooklyn outsider who found his way into the elite clique through his romance with Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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One of the few exceptions was Junior Bridgeman, a former Milwaukee Buck who quietly built a fast food empire after retiring.—
Azeem Khan,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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Courtesy of Lucasfilm On an isolated farm at the outer reaches of a fascist empire, a mid-level government toady interrogates his victims.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Francis was head of Argentina’s Jesuit order during those violent years, when the junta targeted radical clerics and priests who worked with the poor.—
Almudena Calatrava and Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
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Short of troops, the junta activated mandatory conscription last year, even forcibly recruiting hundreds of Rohingya Muslims – an ethnic group whose members have long been persecuted, killed, and denied citizenship by the junta.—
Ann Scott Tyson,
Christian Science Monitor,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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In the benchmark survey, known as Bright Line Watch, U.S.-based professors rate the performance of American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy).—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
22 Apr. 2025
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In the late 1970s, Argentina was under the heel of a military dictatorship.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oligarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oligarchy. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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