oligarchy

noun ol·i·gar·chy \ ˈä-lə-ˌgär-kē , ˈō- \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of oligarchy

plural oligarchies

1 : government by the few

The corporation is ruled by oligarchy.

2 : a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes

a military oligarchy was established in the country

; also : a group exercising such control

An oligarchy ruled the nation.

3 : an organization under oligarchic control

That country is an oligarchy.

See oligarchy defined for English-language learners

See oligarchy defined for kids

Examples of oligarchy in a Sentence

Their nation is an oligarchy.
An oligarchy rules their nation.
The corporation is ruled by oligarchy.

Recent Examples of oligarchy from the Web

Further, Trump’s presidency shows that corporate oligarchies and autocratic politics go hand-in-hand in America no less than in Russia.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Trump’s Amazon Trap," 4 Apr. 2018
Vargas Llosa’s call to reduce state subsidies terrified many of these citizens, as did his connections to the rich, white elite that dominated Peru like an oligarchy.

— marcela valdes, New York Times, "The Elder Statesman of Latin American Literature — and a Writer of Our Moment," 20 Feb. 2018
In 2018, Abrams is running against hate, despair and an oligarchy that has turned the White House into a kleptocracy.

— terrell jermaine starr, The Root, "In the Race for Georgia Governor, Can Stacey Abrams Usher In a New Southern Strategy for the Democrats?," 17 Jan. 2018
The most serious native challenge to liberalism, made by the slaveholding oligarchy of the Old South, was crushed on the battlefield, and, despite the efforts of an ever-dwindling number of apologists, morally anathematized.

— park macdougald, Daily Intelligencer, "Has the Operating System for the Western World Crashed?," 27 Feb. 2018
Law and Justice says voters sent them to shake up a stagnant oligarchy whose elites, including Supreme Court judges, haven’t been answerable to the public.

— drew hinshaw, WSJ, "Poland’s High-Court Move Unnerves EU, but Not Many Voters," 22 July 2017
What these representative structures never resolved was the question of how much economic inequality was necessary to make the system work and how much might flip it into oligarchy, threatening its very foundations.

— duncan kelly, New York Times, "When Democracy Dies Not in Darkness but in Dysfunction," 3 Nov. 2017
But his ownership of newspapers and other media leads to fears of incipient oligarchy.

— The Economist, "In the Czech Republic, almost everyone ran against the system," 26 Oct. 2017
Most countries in the region are no longer controlled by a narrow oligarchy, nor under the yanqui thumb.

— The Economist, "Time to bury Che Guevara for good," 12 Oct. 2017

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

oligarchy and Other Words for Rulers

Oligarchy is one of numerous English words for a type of rule or government. Some of these words, such as plutocracy, have an exceedingly similar meaning (both may be used to refer to rule by an economic elite, but oligarchy often has the additional connotation of corruption). Besides these two, we have meritocracy “a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement,” monarchy “a form of government in which a country is ruled by a king or queen,” ochlocracy “government by the mob," and gerontocracy “rule by elders,” among many others.