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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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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Museums, statues and sculptures dedicated to Andersen’s life and stories thread through cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly streets, giving the city a fairytale atmosphere that feels woven into the architecture itself.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
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Salustri books a cottage at one of the last remaining mom-and-pop stays in Islamorada, White Gate Court, a pet-friendly collection of cottages with its own private beach.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Southern Living,
3 June 2026
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.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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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.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In mid-January, as Iran crushed wide-scale protests with the mass killing of demonstrators, Israel prepared a covert mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, two of the sources familiar with the plans told CNN.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
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Broadcom is backstopping payments on the largest portions of the transaction, people familiar with the matter have said.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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Her family was, and is, close-knit.—
Andre Mouchard,
Daily News,
9 May 2026
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Sosa previously revealed that the former DWTS partners — who remained close-knit on social media in the months following Delvey's exit from the show — were on the rocks last fall.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliquey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliquey. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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