Synonyms of oligarchies

oligarchies

noun

plural of oligarchy

1

as in cliques

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.

Related Words

• cliques
• juntas
• networks
• syndicates
• coteries
• clans
• teams
• cabals
• mobs
• clubs
• crowds
• circles
• covens
• gangs
• conspiracies
• galères
• sets
• Mafias
• crews
• bunches
• packs
• lots
• rings

2

as in empires

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.

Related Words

• empires
• dictatorships
• monarchies
• republics
• theocracies
• sovereigns
• nation-states
• city-states
• triumvirates
• kingdoms
• principalities
• sultanates
• domains
• monocracies
• microstates
• provinces
• duchies
• dukedoms
• ministates
• emirates
• dominions
• duumvirates
• settlements
• dependencies
• triarchies
• colonies
• realms
• dyarchies
• mandates
• seigniories
• homelands
• trust territories
• soil
• client states
• superpowers
• states
• nations
• fatherlands
• great powers
• commonwealths
• countries
• world powers
• condominiums
• sea powers
• motherlands
• powers
• welfare states
• lands
• sovereignties

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of oligarchies

Moreover, most Americans maintained the outdated notion that oligarchies couldn’t exist in nations that were at least nominally democratic. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026

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