as in communities
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
Relevance
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
And there's hierarchy and cliques and clubs and all these different things.
—
H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Even today, Heathers' spin on cliques, teen suicide, and homosexuality still has bite.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The film, set at a suburban Chicago high school, stars Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall as five teenagers from vastly different cliques who spend a life-altering Saturday in detention.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
Enid introduced Wednesday to the social scene at Nevermore — the four main cliques being Furs, Fangs, Stoners and Scales.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
And that's where little cliques were formed.
—Kate Hogan, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024
Today, though, even the most exclusive of these maritime cliques embrace their surrounding communities, whether through wildly popular race weeks, youth sailing programs, or taking the helm on sustainability issues.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2024
When and why do girls start forming cliques?
—Hannah L. Schacter, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2024
And oversight officials faulted it for failing to ban deputy cliques — the term oversight officials and researchers use to describe exclusionary subgroups not known to engage in egregious misconduct.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024
H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Even today, Heathers' spin on cliques, teen suicide, and homosexuality still has bite.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The film, set at a suburban Chicago high school, stars Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall as five teenagers from vastly different cliques who spend a life-altering Saturday in detention.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2025
Enid introduced Wednesday to the social scene at Nevermore — the four main cliques being Furs, Fangs, Stoners and Scales.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
And that's where little cliques were formed.
—Kate Hogan, People.com, 10 Dec. 2024
Today, though, even the most exclusive of these maritime cliques embrace their surrounding communities, whether through wildly popular race weeks, youth sailing programs, or taking the helm on sustainability issues.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2024
When and why do girls start forming cliques?
—Hannah L. Schacter, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2024
And oversight officials faulted it for failing to ban deputy cliques — the term oversight officials and researchers use to describe exclusionary subgroups not known to engage in egregious misconduct.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliques
Noun
-
With support from the ADG Community Journalism Project, LEARNS reporter Josh Snyder covers the impact of the law on the K-12 education system across the state, and its effect on teachers, students, parents and communities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Sep. 2025
-
With better smoke tracking, communities and agencies could respond faster to wildfire threats and reduce health impacts from airborne particles.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Entire crowds gunned down at distribution points.—
Beth Bailey,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
In the Lower West Side of Chicago, music blared and green, white and red flags fluttered down the streets of the predominantly Latino Pilsen neighborhood on Saturday as crowds gathered for the start of Mexican Independence Day celebrations.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
While recent reports are textbook exposés of the realities of modern warfare, the recruitment networks’ international facade makes protecting foreign fighters all the more difficult.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The firm includes attorneys who have been interviewed on news networks, spoken at conventions, and even been elected to boards of directors or executive roles at prestigious legal organizations.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Trump also announced a similar designation for Haitian gangs.—
Azadeh Shahshahani,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Since that time, such attacks have proliferated, with ransomware gangs going after both individual practices and software vendors within the dental ecosystem.—
Tarun Eldho Alias,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The 17-year-old is now a figurehead in young adult literary circles through their book club, Read with Raegan, and partnerships with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Maduro is isolated, both within his circles and internationally.—
Kristina Foltz,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That makes the $65 fee and all those frozen chicken nuggets and packs of ramen a pretty smart deal.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The exception to 'nobody in the AAA space is still working on RTS projects' might be Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios; Age of Empires — one of the undisputed greats of the genre — is still alive and regularly getting new entries, expansions, and smaller content packs.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Ellen and Brian may have just declared their love and commitment to each other in a handfast ceremony, but their burgeoning relationship is about to upend both of their clans’ lives.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Colum calmly declares that the union will mend the damage between the clans.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Energy Foundation China, the nonprofit group mentioned by Lucci, is one such major funder of domestic environmental nonprofit organizations, disbursing tens of millions of dollars each year to support American activists while operating under the oversight of the CCP.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Quintana said some organizations and companies backed out of sponsorships or being part of the march this year.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cliques.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliques. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share