oligarchy
/ˈɑlɪˌɡɑɹki/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.85 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A government run by and for only a few, often the aristocracy, the wealthy, or their friends and associates.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Despite the involvement of all classes of society, America's political duopoly and the importance of money to mass-market campaigning has established an oligarchy that is seldom responsive to the citizenry as a whole, when opposed to the wealthy or major interest groups."
- "It's an oligarchy because these families own and run almost everything that makes money in El Salvador. Coffee gave birth to the oligarchy in the late 19th century, and economic growth has revolved around them ever since."
- "The Itasca Project is just one example of existing oligarchy, and a surprisingly open one at that."
- "Together, we will usher in a generation of change. And if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves."
- "The 1832 Reform Act aimed to transform the British oligarchy and allow Parliament to represent the interests of a broader range of the population."
- "The modern British oligarchy—particularly during periods of Tory rule—has been called a chumocracy."
Etymology
Borrowed from French oligarchie, from Late Latin oligarchia, from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía), from ὀλίγος (olígos, “few”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule”). By surface analysis, oligo- (“few”) + -archy (“rule, command”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: oligarchia, ὀλιγαρχία
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɑlɪˌɡɑɹki/
- British English: /ˈɒlɪˌɡɑːki/