1
as in clique
a small group of people who exercise control over a country, business, etc.
Critics complain that the government is now dominated by an oligarchy of wealthy businesspeople.
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2
as in empire
government that is controlled by a small group of people
The nation was an oligarchy with election results manipulated to maintain a permanent ruling class.
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Recent Examples of oligarchy
Domestically, Roosevelt’s progressive reforms—breaking up dozens of monopolies, modifying railroad rates, setting aside public lands for conservation—cut against the long run of industrial oligarchy enjoyed by assorted oil, timber, and coal kings in collusion with their congressional retainers.
—
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
Maybe the only thing worse than being complicit in an all-powerful corrupt oligarchy is being complicit in an increasingly less powerful corrupt oligarchy.
—Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
Platner, a 41-year-old Marine with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has nakedly cast his bid as a battle against the oligarchy and politics-as-usual complacency.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
Osborn, a union man unafraid of confronting oligarchy, will once again campaign as an independent in next year’s senatorial race in Nebraska, hoping to unseat the billionaire incumbent, Pete Ricketts.
—Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
Maybe the only thing worse than being complicit in an all-powerful corrupt oligarchy is being complicit in an increasingly less powerful corrupt oligarchy.
—Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
Platner, a 41-year-old Marine with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has nakedly cast his bid as a battle against the oligarchy and politics-as-usual complacency.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
Osborn, a union man unafraid of confronting oligarchy, will once again campaign as an independent in next year’s senatorial race in Nebraska, hoping to unseat the billionaire incumbent, Pete Ricketts.
—Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oligarchy
Noun
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The Republican donors get their roles, splitting their loot with the more pliable components of the Castro clique.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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When a new employee, Pumpkin (Tung), is welcomed into the coven, jealousies emerge, secrets come to the surface, and the toxicity of the clique has deadly consequences.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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After six months of backpacking, Martha was feeling very Taoist, very detached, just a big naked eyeball wandering around, absorbing all the astonishing things there were to see at the frayed edges of a defunct feudal empire.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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For nearly 30 years, this table served as the primary research and development lab for a food empire.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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When Argentina hosted in 1978, the military junta that had taken power two years earlier staged elaborate ceremonies as markers of the country’s stability amid growing evidence of violent political repression.—
Albert Samaha,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
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Estimates suggest that as many as 1,900 Jews were abducted, tortured and murdered by the military junta during the six-year Dirty War, when many sources say 30,000 people were disappeared.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The program, launched in 1975 during the country's military dictatorship, has successfully evolved in democratic times to reduce dependency on foreign oil.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Mar. 2026
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President Javier Milei’s government has called for a broader account that also includes victims of left-wing guerrilla violence, which some suggest is a way to minimize the crimes of the dictatorship.—
Juan Melamed,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oligarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oligarchy. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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