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
Those being oligarchy and affordability.
—
ABC News, 21 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
ABC News, 21 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oligarchy
Noun
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Any group of employees that forms an internal clique with secret membership, intimidation, special treatment, or retaliation is incompatible with public service and will be eliminated from this department.—
Opinion Staff,
Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
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If Paul’s creed is essentially Roman, then Christianity looks, from the outset, like a religion trained to live with empire, its compass always set toward placating power.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Situated at the crossroads of empires — from Persian and Roman to Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman — it has long been shaped by conquest and survival.—
Marlise Kast-Myers,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 69-year-old general orchestrated a 2021 coup against the administration of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and placed her under arrest, sparking widespread protests that morphed into nationwide armed resistance against the junta.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
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The military junta has systematically targeted Fulani civilians in what rights groups describe as ethnic cleansing and war crimes.—
Wilson Mcmakin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The banner, more reminiscent of the way leaders are plastered on government buildings in a dictatorship like North Korea, is just the type of gesture the president expects.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Apr. 2026
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Fifty years ago, just after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, about 90% of residents were Catholic.—
Alexis Marshall,
NPR,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oligarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oligarchy. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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