cliquish

as in clannish
bound together by feelings of very close association the cliquish White House press corps soon let him know that he was not on the A-list

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliquish
Adjective
  • Jews, because human beings are and always will be clannish.
    David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
  • This sort of soft, clannish corruption is not a coat of paint that can be stripped from the protectionist architecture; the dysfunction infests the very foundations of it.
    David B. McGarry, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • A week filled with fun videos of puppies trying to master the stairs and a friendly doggy neighbor making his rounds brightened our social media timelines, but a few of our readers' pet videos and pictures stood out.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025
  • This is a guide that is both a friendly flower refresher course for the veteran gardener and a wonderful introduction to flowers for the novice.
    Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • The skills that prepare a child to read begin developing in utero, as a baby listens to the familiar voices around them and begins to develop connections between sounds and the meanings of words in their home language.
    Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025
  • Pritzker and Emanuel are nationally familiar names.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • The larger and less close-knit the group, the less appealing this kind of design can be.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
  • Our family is pretty close-knit for birthdays and celebrations.
    Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • The championship is Oklahoma City’s first since relocating from Seattle in 2008; for the Pacers, close wasn’t good enough for their second straight season with a strong playoff run before falling to the eventual NBA champs.
    USA TODAY, USA Today, 28 June 2025
  • The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Cliquish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliquish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

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