cronyism

noun

cro·ny·ism | \ˈkrō-nē-ˌi-zəm

Definition of cronyism

: partiality to cronies especially as evidenced in the appointment of political hangers-on to office without regard to their qualifications

Examples of cronyism in a Sentence

The mayor has been accused of cronyism.

Recent Examples on the Web

Norpac’s petition is an example of protectionist cronyism. — Steve Forbes, WSJ, "Trump’s Newsprint Tariff Is a Tax on America’s Free Press," 28 June 2018 By its nature, the village manager form of government is more representative of the population and less susceptible to cronyism. — Steve Schering, chicagotribune.com, "After more than 60 years, Oak Park Village Manager Association announces dissolution," 15 June 2018 To end the misallocation of resources caused by small-business cronyism, public policy should be guided by the principle of size neutrality. — Robert D. Atkinson, WSJ, "Stop Propping Up Small Business," 6 Apr. 2018 Many of the practices that have bogged down the hiring process were put in place in 1952 to fight cronyism and patronage, the tradition of handing out jobs based on a person’s friends and family. — Juliana Feliciano Reyes, Philly.com, "'Cumbersome, inflexible, and slow': It can take a year to get hired by the city, Pew finds," 26 June 2018 Dissenting voices are purged, cronyism is rewarded, and nonmilitary government workers feel under attack. — Nicholas Zimmerman, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Washington Insiders Decide to Leak," 16 May 2018 Meantime, Iran is domestically crumbling under the weight of inflation, unemployment, corruption and cronyism. — Eliora Katz, WSJ, "Iranians Are Now Chanting ‘Death to Palestine’," 13 July 2018 The scandal and another alleged cronyism case linked to Abe have stung him since last year and hurt his support ratings. — Washington Post, "Japan’s prime minister heads to Russia for talks with Putin," 24 May 2018 And any one of those political actors can derail progress through corruption, cronyism or simple neglect. — Max Fisher, Amanda Taub And Dalia MartÍnez, New York Times, "Losing Faith in the State, Some Mexican Towns Quietly Break Away," 7 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cronyism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.