clique

/klik/

/klik/

Other forms: cliques

A clique is an exclusive group of people or friends. Before Rudolph pulled Santa's sled through the fog, the clique of flying reindeer never let him play their reindeer games.

In high school, the exclusive nature of cliques causes a lot of hurt feelings. Clique carries this less than nice feeling with it wherever it goes, whether it be a set of elites who surround a government official, a group of popular kids who don't let others join their group or the closed circle of people at the office who always make sure they get the best jobs.

Definitions of clique

1. noun

   an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
   synonyms: camp, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, pack

   types:

   Bloomsbury Group

   an inner circle of writers and artists and philosophers who lived in or around Bloomsbury early in the 20th century and were noted for their unconventional lifestyles

   bohemia

   a group of artists and writers with real or pretended artistic or intellectual aspirations and usually an unconventional life style

   brain trust, kitchen cabinet

   an inner circle of unofficial advisors to the head of a government

   loop

   an inner circle of advisors (especially under President Reagan)

   cabal, camarilla, faction, junto

   a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue

   junta, military junta

   a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power

   maffia, mafia

   any tightly knit group of trusted associates

   faction, sect

   a dissenting clique

   galere, rogue's gallery

   a coterie of undesirable people

   hard core

   the most dedicated and intensely loyal nucleus of a group or movement

   splinter group

   a faction or sect that has broken away from its parent organization

   left, left wing

   those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare

   right, right wing

   those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged

   old guard

   a faction that is unwilling to accept new ideas

   pro-choice faction

   those who argue that the decision to have an induced abortion should be made by the mother

   pro-life faction

   those who argue that induced abortion is killing and should be prohibited

   type of:

   band, circle, lot, set

   an unofficial association of people or groups