nonhierarchical
adjective
non·hi·er·ar·chi·cal
ˌnän-ˌhī-(ə-)ˈrär-ki-kəl 
also -hir-ˈär-
: not hierarchical
especially
: not divided into, organized by, or involving different levels of importance or status
a nonhierarchical organization/structure
All great groups have extraordinary leaders. It's a paradox, really, because great groups tend to be collegial and nonhierarchical, peopled by singularly competent individuals who often have an anti-authoritarian streak. —
Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman
Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman Examples of nonhierarchical in a Sentence
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Brand had imagined the Whole Earth Catalog not only as a clearinghouse for information on useful commodities but, through the publication of letters and product reviews from its readers, as host to a geographically diffuse, nonhierarchical community.
—Benjamin Kunkel, The New Republic, 14 June 2022
Hsieh turned his management attention elsewhere — notably to an effort to eliminate traditional management entirely within Zappos and replace it with a nonhierarchical system called Holacracy, an effort that largely lost steam after a few difficult years.
—Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2020
If nonhierarchical world belief shapes liberal thinking, then no one should be surprised that liberals deprioritize enforcing those boundaries.
—Jer Clifton, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2023
Denmark, like most of Scandinavia, likes to see itself as a fair and equal society, with a nonhierarchical structure, high levels of happiness and trustworthy institutions dedicated to everyone’s well-being.
—Jasmina Nielsen, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2022
Eileen Fisher is known for its nonhierarchical, unconventional corporate structure.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2022
The Davids demolish the Hobbesian narrative by pointing to complex, agricultural societies—in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas—that governed themselves in nonhierarchical ways.
—John Horgan, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2022
And Govan’s vision for the new LACMA — a nonhierarchical, decentralized museum showing rotating installations of the permanent collections along with art at satellite locations — has been nothing if not divisive.
—Deborah Vankin Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2021
In March 1982 these activists, primarily progressive Catholics and Protestants, publicly established the Sanctuary Movement, which became a nonhierarchical network of hundreds of congregations across the country.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020
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Benjamin Kunkel, The New Republic, 14 June 2022
Hsieh turned his management attention elsewhere — notably to an effort to eliminate traditional management entirely within Zappos and replace it with a nonhierarchical system called Holacracy, an effort that largely lost steam after a few difficult years.
—Sam Dean, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2020
If nonhierarchical world belief shapes liberal thinking, then no one should be surprised that liberals deprioritize enforcing those boundaries.
—Jer Clifton, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2023
Denmark, like most of Scandinavia, likes to see itself as a fair and equal society, with a nonhierarchical structure, high levels of happiness and trustworthy institutions dedicated to everyone’s well-being.
—Jasmina Nielsen, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2022
Eileen Fisher is known for its nonhierarchical, unconventional corporate structure.
—Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2022
The Davids demolish the Hobbesian narrative by pointing to complex, agricultural societies—in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas—that governed themselves in nonhierarchical ways.
—John Horgan, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2022
And Govan’s vision for the new LACMA — a nonhierarchical, decentralized museum showing rotating installations of the permanent collections along with art at satellite locations — has been nothing if not divisive.
—Deborah Vankin Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2021
In March 1982 these activists, primarily progressive Catholics and Protestants, publicly established the Sanctuary Movement, which became a nonhierarchical network of hundreds of congregations across the country.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Nonhierarchical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonhierarchical. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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