cliques

noun

plural of clique
as in networks
a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially that clique refuses to even talk to outsiders at their lunch table

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cliques That era involved small cliques of devs talking a big game about decentralization (which often provided a pretext for no accountability) while shilling tokens at all turns. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026 Since its inception, social media has been a proving ground for tween fashion and identity, offering under-16s a digital canvas to experiment with their style and form online cliques around niche interests. — Sophie Lou Wilson, Vogue, 2 July 2026 Ramsey numbers for same-size red and blue cliques are called diagonal Ramsey numbers. — Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 26 June 2026 Under Meza, player cliques developed, stars were pampered, discipline waned. — Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 10 June 2026 Prosecutors said the killings were tied to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational gang that maintains a presence in Los Angeles through smaller groups, or cliques, including in the San Fernando Valley and around MacArthur Park. — Sydney Barragan, Daily News, 6 June 2026 What began as a search for community and understanding turned into an experience that felt akin to the cliques and social hierarchies of high school. — Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 6 June 2026 Tuchel does not want dressing-room cliques and has put a premium on having a unified group pulling in the same direction. — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 23 May 2026 In this milieu, Hollywood A-listers like Will Ferrell and Sharon Stone, who occupy separate cliques nearby, pale in comparison to the mingling artistic luminaries. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliques
  1. networks
  2. communities
  3. circles
  4. crowds
  5. gangs
  6. packs
  7. clans
  8. covens
Noun
  • The railway manias left behind functioning rail networks, and the dot-com bubble left behind server and network infrastructure that made the following two decades of internet companies cheap to build.
    — Michael Wee, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Little League Softball World Series broadcasts For the first time, every game of this year’s tournament gets a spot on one of ESPN’s linear networks.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of networks
Noun
  • Thresholds of sea level for which homes and roads in coastal communities like South Florida were engineered would be crossed faster than expected.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
  • Their purchase set an all-time record in all Cliffs’ communities.
    — Joe Marusak July 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026
Definition of communities
Noun
  • In recent years, as Grande has risen to super stardom, her physical appearance has been put under the microscope in certain online circles.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 2 Aug. 2026
  • First Fridays may bring a night market; meditation and healing circles happen in a back room, with Indigenous practices led by Indigenous people.
    — Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of circles
Noun
  • Videos shared on social media showed crowds of people walking through aisles of vendors outside before gunshots prompted people to flee.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 27 July 2026
  • The closure contrasts with two successful launches of new Asian grocery hubs Sakura Market and T&T Supermarkets in San Jose, which both opened this summer to enthusiastic crowds.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 27 July 2026
Definition of crowds
Noun
  • Theirs was a working-class community, nestled just a few blocks west of the presidential palace, that in recent years has been overrun by gangs and subjected to extreme and indiscriminate violence.
    — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
  • The economy of malicious actors continues to expand, and cybercriminal enterprises are resembling corporate entities rather than traditional gangs.
    — Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of gangs
Noun
  • Pokémon cards come in packs, the contents of which are unknown to buyers upon purchasing.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • On multiple occasions throughout the games’ TV coverage, the Team USA member was seen opening packs of Magic cards and spoke about her passion for the hobby during interviews.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 28 July 2026
Definition of packs
Noun
  • The Richards family is one of America’s richest clans, thanks to its electrical manufacturing company Southwire.
    — Simone Melvin, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • Warrior Cats is based on Erin Hunter’s feline book series that follows the adventures and drama of multiple clans of feral cats.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 18 June 2026
Definition of clans
Noun
  • Season 2 sees Louis and Claudia in Europe — just in time for World War II — and both novel and show expand outward to include things like vampire covens and AMC tie-in series to the further reaches of Rice’s lore.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 6 June 2026
  • The Last Witch Hunter, about the one man who stands between humanity and the most horrible witch covens imaginable, grossed $130 million at the worldwide box office at the time of its initial theatrical release in 2015.
    — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of covens

Browse Nearby Words

clique
cliques
cliquey
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Cite this Entry

“Cliques.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliques. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of cliques for Spanish Speakers

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