How to Use hierarchical in a Sentence

hierarchical

adjective
  • Not flat like the Earth, but flat as in not very hierarchical.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 6 July 2021
  • And there's sort of a hierarchical distinction based on where people are born.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2021
  • The ocean liner is a hierarchical world, for both passengers and crew.
    — Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2022
  • Health care should be a team process, not a hierarchical system that puts one discipline over all others.
    — WSJ, 4 Oct. 2020
  • They are supposed to be the most nimble group but the military is quite hierarchical.
    — Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, 17 Apr. 2017
  • At the same time, the community is very hierarchical, which means those of us near the bottom must learn from those above.
    — Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Large funds tend to be more hierarchical, with a very traditional ladder to the top.
    — Heather Hartnett, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2021
  • The system is hierarchical, and can spot and learn broader patterns, too.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 23 May 2017
  • The tiers weren’t hierarchical; the idea was merely that categories might help the chaplains reach those who were most in need.
    — Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2020
  • With lots of content, a pillar page creates a hierarchical map.
    — Karan Sharma, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
  • Some packs are hierarchical and include alpha, beta, and omega pups.
    — Quispe López, Them, 26 July 2024
  • Your brain is making plans, and in a hierarchical way, with goals made up of subgoals, each comprised of more subgoals, and so on.
    — Nicholas Wright, Time, 28 Dec. 2025
  • The community plan was based on the concept of hierarchical streets, laid out to the contours of the canyons and the hills.
    — Martina Schimitschek, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 June 2019
  • This non-hierarchical style helps patients feel more at ease, fostering trust and openness.
    — Alison Escalante, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Job ladders do not work as well in less-hierarchical low-wage industries such as restaurants and retail.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 12 Nov. 2019
  • Yeah, their species is dependent on this kind of aid in a really strict hierarchical structure.
    — Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Federal judges sit in a hierarchical system with the Supreme Court at the top.
    — Jack Goldsmith, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2017
  • But this movie is also dealing with [the idea that] any kind of hierarchical power structure that moves in any direction isn’t so great.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2023
  • Likewise, celebrity is hierarchical and exploitative — not of artists, but of fans.
    — Annie Julia Wyman, New Republic, 22 May 2017
  • The result was a more hierarchical, siloed system — one that didn’t keep pace with the Valley’s dynamism.
    — Morris M. Kleiner, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Feudalism is a hierarchical system where the wealthy own land, while the poor farm said land in exchange for a place to live, as well as protection.
    — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 7 Jan. 2019
  • Since there’s no hierarchical structure, anyone who wants to help, contribute, or bring forth new ideas is encouraged to do so.
    — Afdhel Aziz, Forbes, 5 May 2021
  • His book was endorsed by two cardinals and three bishops, the mark of more senior-level approval in the hierarchical church.
    — Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2017
  • There was a hierarchical, violent pecking order like a prison or Lord of the Flies.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2023
  • This is due to the hierarchical structure and the asymmetry of the dynamics described by the model.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
  • Yet both relied on existing file formats and hierarchical menus.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Accessing it is not just a technical challenge, but a social and hierarchical one.
    — Jerry Shu, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
  • In the long run this can cause significant damage to the hierarchical structure of a company.
    — Ankur Modi, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
  • Democratize the field The panelists agreed that science can be too hierarchical and slow.
    — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, 20 Mar. 2018
  • Dogs kept some of their hierarchical instincts, replacing alpha wolves with their human masters.
    — Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hierarchical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: