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What was the word hierarchy originally coined to describe?

hierarchy

[hahy-uh-rahr-kee, hahy-rahr-] / ˈhaɪ əˌrɑr ki, ˈhaɪ rɑr- /


Example Sentences

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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez says he "spoke out of anger and frustration" when launching a scathing attack on the club's hierarchy.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The complex internal hierarchy of Israel’s kibbutzim ensures that only a few long-term residents—usually older people—have a vote in matters relating to governance, including the painful question of knocking down the houses of the kibbutz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Eschewing contextualization, hierarchy, poetry, mystery, the museum dissolves art’s essential distinctions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

They also shed light on the tomb owner’s position in the Ramesside hierarchy, and on the other family members buried here – plus, potentially, later reusers of the tomb.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

It was just a symbol; it didn’t have a place in the hierarchy of numbers.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

In its core regions, Indigenous communities became organized into political hierarchies, with powerful chiefdoms exerting influence over surrounding settlements.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

These AI systems demonstrated the ability to coordinate, establish hierarchies among themselves, cheat and erase traces of their actions.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

They brought an attitude toward government and power that would strengthen conservative hierarchies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

"He transcended social and caste hierarchies through his music," says Krishna.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Humans, like chimps, have social instincts that enabled our ancestors to form friendships and hierarchies, and to hunt or fight together.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari


Vocabulary lists containing hierarchy

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