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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The robber clique turns out to have its own bosses, too, as well as the most visible fractures in their unit.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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Last week, the county paid $8 million to settle a long-pending lawsuit by multiple sheriff’s deputies who alleged they were pressured to quit or leave the East Los Angeles station by an internal deputy clique known as the Banditos.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The guys who have literally created their entire media empires around being online and around the clip ecosystem, livestreaming, et cetera?—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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Bud is the evil empire of beer.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Following coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance instead.—
Molly Quell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Following military coups, the juntas in the three countries have turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Anti-dictatorship, but for kids Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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In a nation that has long prided itself on a free and vibrant news media, rights watchdogs and lawmakers from across the political spectrum denounced the move as an attack on the press without precedent since the end of Argentina’s military dictatorship in 1983.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oligarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oligarchy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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