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 model relies on a dramatic shift in relations among officers and prisoners, two historically warring factions in a system built on clannish gamesmanship for survival.
—
Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024
The most successful of those managers have carved out a niche catering to the valley’s famously clannish billionaire elites.
—James McClain, Robb Report, 6 Dec. 2023
There are a broad spectrum of other possible explanations for the disparate outcomes Boegeman cites, including religious differences, geographic differences, even — gasp — the clannish propensity of ethnic groups to band together and create — or retain — their unique cultural traditions.
—Star Tribune, 19 July 2021
The Trumps are nothing if not clannish.
—Hari Kunzru, The New York Review of Books, 2 July 2020
See all Example Sentences for clannish 
Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024
The most successful of those managers have carved out a niche catering to the valley’s famously clannish billionaire elites.
—James McClain, Robb Report, 6 Dec. 2023
There are a broad spectrum of other possible explanations for the disparate outcomes Boegeman cites, including religious differences, geographic differences, even — gasp — the clannish propensity of ethnic groups to band together and create — or retain — their unique cultural traditions.
—Star Tribune, 19 July 2021
The Trumps are nothing if not clannish.
—Hari Kunzru, The New York Review of Books, 2 July 2020
See all Example Sentences for clannish
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clannish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clannish
Cite this Entry
“Clannish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clannish. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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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