as in prejudice
disapproving
the unfair practice by a powerful person (such as a politician) of giving jobs and other favors to friends
The mayor has been accused of cronyism.
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Recent Examples of cronyism
Musk had pushed to install his friend Jared Isaacman as head of the agency—a move that stank of cronyism.
—
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2025
The filing comes days after four high-ranking former New York City police officials filed a separate suit alleging that Adams doled out patronage promotions and a culture of cronyism in the NYPD, according to the Associated Press.
—James Powel, USA Today, 17 July 2025
An American charity that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars by promising to meet the emergency needs of Israeli soldiers after the war in Gaza broke out is now facing internal turmoil over allegations of financial mismanagement, cronyism, and a toxic workplace culture.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 14 July 2025
Far from progress, this is cronyism dressed as fairness, and it's being forced on nations worldwide under the OECD's banner.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cronyism
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2025
The filing comes days after four high-ranking former New York City police officials filed a separate suit alleging that Adams doled out patronage promotions and a culture of cronyism in the NYPD, according to the Associated Press.
—James Powel, USA Today, 17 July 2025
An American charity that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars by promising to meet the emergency needs of Israeli soldiers after the war in Gaza broke out is now facing internal turmoil over allegations of financial mismanagement, cronyism, and a toxic workplace culture.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 14 July 2025
Far from progress, this is cronyism dressed as fairness, and it's being forced on nations worldwide under the OECD's banner.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cronyism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cronyism
Noun
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During a hospital stay, Roy’s enfeebled mother fixates on the caste and religious affiliations of the doctors treating her—the sort of thing that will be familiar to anyone who has cringed at a diminished elder’s unfiltered prejudices.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 2025
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From hiring algorithms that penalize women to facial recognition systems that misidentify people of color, AI is at risk of replicating—and even amplifying—our worst human prejudices.—
Sagar Gupta,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Address ethics, bias and compliance early.—
David Henkin,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Job candidates with names that sound smooth and soft may have a surprising edge in the hiring process, according to a new study that explored how sound symbolism leads to hiring biases.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The son of LeBron James, Bronny has heard the nepotism criticisms ever since getting a shot at the NBA, and to be quite frank, some of that has some validity to it.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
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The fact that Montreal’s defining MLS traits have been impatience and inconsistency give fans every reason to suspect incompetence until proven otherwise even without the bright red flashing light of supposed nepotism.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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If everyone were to showcase the Emmys, that would also eliminate any concerns about favoritism.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
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Many of the episodes released so far have addressed Chase's sobriety struggles, as well as Harvey's favoritism of him over his other grandchildren.—
Dory Jackson,
People.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cronyism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cronyism. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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