oligarchy

noun

Definition of oligarchynext
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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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 oligarchy Breaking the hold of tech and financial oligarchies, including a ban on algorithmic wage-setting, ensures that AI does not become a tool for gutting the middle class. — Sarita Gupta, Time, 2 June 2026 The open-source software movement, partly a political project to protect the freedom to tinker and prevent corporate oligarchies from stifling innovation, would become a cornerstone of the technology industry. — Jonathan Weber, Fortune, 19 May 2026 After shares rallied to a peak of $225 on June 16, a stunning 50 percent rise over their opening price, Musk officially became the world’s very-first trillionaire — an obscene hyper-capitalist milestone highlighting the tech oligarchy’s iron grip on society. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 24 June 2026 But these days, at one of Ukraine’s most prestigious universities, the likes of Pushkin, Chekhov, and Dostoyevsky have given way to such topics as Russian disinformation and propaganda, how its foreign intelligence operates, and understanding Russia’s elites and oligarchy. — Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for oligarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oligarchy
  1. clique
  2. empire
  3. junta
  4. dictatorship
Noun
  • Since its inception, social media has been a proving ground for tween fashion and identity, offering under-16s a digital canvas to experiment with their style and form online cliques around niche interests.
    — Sophie Lou Wilson, Vogue, 2 July 2026
  • Shen wondered whether there was a random model that could produce clique-free colorings more efficiently than Erdős’ approach.
    — Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 26 June 2026
Definition of clique
Noun
  • Jones has thrown every wrench at the paper to try and foil the reboot of his digital streaming and supplement empire.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2026
  • The tennis icon has built a sprawling business empire that includes a venture capital firm, Serena Ventures; the multimedia company Nine Two Six Productions; and Wyn Beauty, while also holding stakes in the Miami Dolphins and Angel City FC.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 3 July 2026
Definition of empire
Noun
  • The junta then sacked hundreds of French forces sent to fight extremist groups.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2026
  • However, its victory over Peru has since been riddled with allegations of match fixing, particularly because Argentina was ruled by a military junta that was accused of using its political influence to secure a favorable result.
    — Andrew Pereira, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 June 2026
Definition of junta
Noun
  • His story stretches beyond sports, touching one of Haiti’s many mysteries of Haiti’s brutal Duvalier dictatorship and reflecting on the outsize role Haitians have long played in shaping American history.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
  • Virtually all contemporary dictatorships are cosplay democracies with term limits, elections, and legislatures—the few ruling, as Amos Perlmutter put it, in the name of the many.
    — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of dictatorship

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Cite this Entry

“Oligarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oligarchy. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on oligarchy

Nglish: Translation of oligarchy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about oligarchy

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