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oligarchy

[ol-i-gahr-kee] / ˈɒl ɪˌgɑr ki /


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.

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Typically wearing a traditional Caribbean shirt, Cepeda forgoes a tie, which he considers a symbol of oligarchy.

From Barron's May 25, 2026

Sparta was an agrarian oligarchy whose muscle was its hoplite horde.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 21, 2025

Merging "bro" and "oligarchy", it means "a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence".

From BBC Aug. 17, 2025

Rakoff is a complicated guy, but he is as committed as anyone to standing up to the oligarchy.

From Slate Aug. 4, 2025

According to Fifi, the alta sociedad, the high-class ladies of the oligarchy who form a kind of club, not unlike a country club, are delighted by this juicy bit of gossip.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Immediately following the war, Sparta established oligarchies of local aristocrats in the city-states that had been democracies under the Delian League.

From Textbooks Apr. 19, 2023

Global supply chains were supposed to lower costs, boost profits and enable democratic values to seep into the terrain of oligarchies, dictatorships and autocracies.

From Seattle Times Nov. 11, 2022

Autocracies, unlike oligarchies, make for engaging political theater.

From Salon Sep. 28, 2021

To the present day at least 10 of the 15 former Soviet republics can be accurately described as oligarchies.

From Scientific American Oct. 30, 2019

All past oligarchies have fallen from power either because they ossified or because they grew soft.

From "1984" by George Orwell




Vocabulary lists containing oligarchy


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