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 So the players will get a day off to cool down but have to spend the night at the pub quiz in teams of Ted’s choosing, never mind the cliques. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026 Amid the crushes, cliques, and teenage angst, two sisters set out to define themselves on their own terms. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026 In a number of sensitive sectors, such as telecommunications, EVs, and drones, such cliques have already formed, setting bans and restrictions on the use of equipment from Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE. — Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliques
  1. networks
  2. communities
  3. circles
  4. crowds
  5. gangs
  6. packs
  7. clans
  8. covens
Noun
  • Next phase of the project Users can also cross-examine candidate locations against regional power grids and river networks through Oak Ridge’s HydroSource digital mapping tool.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Fox News and right-leaning networks One America News Network and Newsmax are good bets to air all or most of the convention.
    — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of networks
Noun
  • The loss of Native individuals led to the destabilization of Indigenous family units and entire communities.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The Brussels governing system is notoriously splintered along linguistic communities, which is one reason the Brussels-Capital Region failed to form a new government between June 2024 and February 2026.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of communities
Noun
  • Hampton will benefit from the same system that made De’Von Achane a household name in Fantasy circles.
    — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Her fantastical Biblical scenes, of a graphic, storybook sensibility, sometimes showed angels, and Christ himself, as chalky white, and this rang in some Black critical circles as a sign of backwater unsophistication.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of circles
Noun
  • Anyone going to Yosemite for a Labor Day day trip or a quick overnighter should be prepared for crowds and plenty of traffic.
    — Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Parking lots and streets surrounding Acrisure Stadium were packed with tents, music and crowds as Pitt supporters soaked in the game-day atmosphere.
    — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of crowds
Noun
  • Many are not from Cap-Haïtien and would need to find lodging or eventually cross a country where armed gangs control key roads.
    — Gérard Maxineau, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In Ghana, Kojo is drawn into a world of street gangs and deception following his father’s disappearance at sea.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangs
Noun
  • The $799 Ultra 4 packs impressive battery gains, but the $399 Series 12 is the real star of the show.
    — Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Individual bottles sold for about $3, while three- and 12-packs retailed for between $13 and $32.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of packs
Noun
  • Ali Mahmoud Ali, the group's Sudan analyst, said that the latest clashes risk bringing in more Nuba clans into the fight and could increase divisions across South Kordofan, where communities are facing an already dire humanitarian situation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • All Palestinian clans and families in Gaza would also be a target for disarmament, which would have an impact on the future of Hamas and Palestinian armed struggle.
    — Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 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 15 Sep. 2026.

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