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hierarchies

noun

plural of hierarchy
as in ladders
a scheme of rank or order honesty sits at the top of my hierarchy of values

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 hierarchies Lake said the contrasts between the quiet and extravagant designs are important and represent someone’s journey through society’s hierarchies. — Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026 Depending on the club, the hierarchies are still clear, and there might be little overlap between those positions. — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 While mapping these structural hierarchies is a foundational data modeling challenge, the piece that most organizations completely underestimate is the dynamic signal layer. — Filip Popovic, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Estrangement often happens when these two ideas of family collide and cannot be reconciled – when one member insists that biological or origin ties and hierarchies reinforce the family unit, and another insists that behavior does. — Rin Reczek, The Conversation, 17 Aug. 2026 Temporary contracts add to instability, McAlister wrote, and create a culture of silence around employee mistreatment and toxic hierarchies. — The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 10 Aug. 2026 That data has helped researchers spot smaller flock sizes among birds such as dark-eyed juncos and house finches, track species moving into new areas and learn more about disease and the same social hierarchies playing out around backyard feeders. — Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 And with Molly Ringwald as his muse, Hughes’s directorial debut established his gift for frank and empathetic tales of adolescent crushes and high school social hierarchies. — Al Shipley, SPIN, 4 Aug. 2026 Lemurs also have complex social hierarchies and are uniquely matriarchal for primates. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hierarchies
  1. ladders
  2. rankings
  3. scales
  4. series
Noun
  • But because a film shoot is kind of boring, most of us abandoned the ladders after an hour, leaving my brother to watch the rest of the filming alone.
    — Sarah Shanfield, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • To find their bodies, that afternoon Comella and other firemen traversed the steep, smoldering steel mountain using a series of ladders, a process not unlike the way trekkers negotiate the treacherous Khumbu ice fall at the base of Mount Everest.
    — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of ladders
Noun
  • Texas dominated many national rankings in the report as well, with the ZIP code encompassing the Dallas suburb of Crandall ranking second on the list and a more urban Dallas ZIP code ranking 10th.
    — Faith Bugenhagen, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
Definition of rankings
Noun
  • The analytics titled the scales in favor of going for it by a wide margin, by the way — far wider than a week ago, when Reid left his offense out there on his own half of the field.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Lovely Butterfly moves between the tactility of personal letters and abstraction of aerial digital maps, mediating the scales of intimacy and distance.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of scales
Noun
  • Tessa Coates created the series and serves as executive producer and showrunner along with Matt Miller and director Peyton Reed.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Then, on the very next series, Philo coolly dropped back on third-and-11 – with the crowd going bonkers – and fired a 20-yard TD strike to Dallas Wilson.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of series

Browse Nearby Words

hierarchically
hierarchies
hierarchize
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Cite this Entry

“Hierarchies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hierarchies. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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