clique
/kliːk
/noun
A small close-knit group of people who do not readily allow others to join them: his flat became a haven for a clique of young men of similar tastes the old-school clique...
- I hope that you all will get to know him and allow him to join our wonderful clique.
- In our close-knit cliques we gossip about a variety of topics even though we complain about the parents who do it.
- At that time, he hadn't joined any of the cliques he could have, staying alone, talking to a few other guys at a minimum level.
Synonyms
coterie, circle, inner circle, crowd, in-crowd, set, group;
pack, band, ring, mob, crew;
club, society, fraternity, sorority, fellowship;
camp;
cartel, cabal, junta, caucus, cell, lobby;
Australian/New Zealand push
informal gang, bunch
rare camarilla
Derivatives
cliquish
- They stand for upper-class, cliquish snobbery.
- The intensity of Louis' initial physical attraction to her allowed Pompadour to adapt to the extraordinarily cliquish and exclusive atmosphere of Versailles.
- Then around 12 or 13, kids get cliquish and cruel and that disgusted me.
cliquishness
- Not only would the overlapping of communities be encouraged but the cliquishness that plagues this campus will, hopefully, begin to be phased out.
- A new social system starts, and seems delightfully free of the elitism and cliquishness of the existing systems.
- Small world networks exhibit local cliquishness while exhibiting strong global connectivity.
Origin
Early 18th century: from French, from Old French cliquer 'make a noise'; the modern sense is related to claque.