Synonyms

cliquish

American

[klee-kish, klik-ish] / ˈkli kɪʃ, ˈklɪk ɪʃ /

adjective

associating exclusively with the members of one's own clique; clannish.
tending to divide into cliques.

a cliquish neighborhood.
of, relating to, or characteristic of a clique.

narrow, cliquish notions about art.

Other Word Forms

cliquishly adverb
cliquishness noun

Etymology

Origin of cliquish

First recorded in 1850–55; clique + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Had he been unaware of a sometimes cliquish and toxic office culture, with another top aide, Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero, dishing out Facebook insults against prominent politicos?

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2022

The cliquish culture of private aviation is no friend to the climate, either.

From Washington Post • Nov. 28, 2022

Certainly plenty of spaces pay lip service to the idea of openness, but wind up feeling cliquish.

From New York Times • Jan. 4, 2019

In 2015, after a number of departures, Fortune published an article in which former employees complained about a cliquish, “mean girls” corporate culture.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 15, 2018

Any system, in fact, which involves “double election” tends to make the body concerned hidebound and cliquish.

From Practical Politics; or, the Liberalism of To-day by Robbins, Alfred Farthing

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023