as in cliquish
bound together by feelings of very close association
found the people at the brokerage house to be just as cliquey as a gaggle of high school cheerleaders
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cliquey
The middle daughter of the family has always felt outside of its cliquey confines, what with Lizzy and Jane forming such a pair and Kitty and Lydia (Molly Wright and Grace Hogg-Robinson) practically sharing a brain.
—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 May 2026
The Friends set was notorious for being cliquey and insular.
—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 May 2026
The Friends set was notorious for being cliquey and insular.
—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliquey
Adjective
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Whitehead wanted to write, but workshops rejected him and the cliquish undergraduate literary scene put him off.
Adjective
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The band had been denied the opportunity to perform during Haiti’s pre-World Cup friendly against Peru, despite the presence of a Peruvian band.
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Founded in 2008, FunnyFlux is a Korean animation studio creating family-friendly IP for global audiences.
Adjective
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The Machine was lambasted, fairly, for its clannish coördination and its efforts to keep Democratic politics in a certain mainstream style.
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In the Middle Ages, local churchgoers whispered of clannish Jews poisoning wells to kill Christian children and steal their blood for their rituals.
Adjective
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The source familiar with the 2024 fire probe said city inspectors now have questions following this new blaze about how the company handled the recovery from the last incident.
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This is familiar territory for the Panthers under president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito.
Adjective
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In fact, the Inter Miami FC star's entire family is close-knit and involved in his athletic career.
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The entire team is in shock, and the community is close-knit.
Cite this Entry
“Cliquey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliquey. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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