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oligarchy Definition

oli·gar·chy (äl′i gär′kē)

noun pl. -·chies

  1. a form of government in which the ruling power belongs to a few persons
  2. a state governed in this way
  3. the persons ruling such a state

Etymology: Gr oligarchia: see olig(o)- & -archy

oligarchy Related Forms
ol′i·gar′·chic adjective or ol′i·gar′·chi·cal
oligarchy Synonyms

oligarchy

n.

theocracy, thearchy, diarchy, triarchy, duarchy, duumvirate, triumvirate, regency, gerontocracy, aristocracy; see also government 2.

oligarchy Usage Examples

Converse of subject

  • rule: Until 1916 the country was ruled by an oligarchy of landowners who operated a parliament on a restricted suffrage.

Converse of object

  • land: The liberal leadership simply joined the ranks of the existing landed oligarchy.
  • perpetuate: While paying lip-service to democracy they perpetuate an unhealthy oligarchy.
  • support: For supporting the criminal oligarchy in Venezuela, and for its historic interference in the internal affairs of peoples.
  • have: If people went around saying we had an electoral oligarchy you would get a blank look from most.
  • establish: At length the exiles, becoming numerous, returned, and, engaging and defeating the people, established the oligarchy.
  • remain: It will remain literally an oligarchy, a committee of 25 ministers making laws in secret for 450 million people.

Adjective modifier

  • financial: Only in this way can the plans of the financial oligarchy be blocked.
  • international: Behind these structures anonymous monetary aces of the international financial oligarchy hide.
  • new: Like most of the new Russian oligarchy there have been some rather murky chapters in Mr Abramovich's past.
  • self-perpetuating: There is, here, the real risk of a self-perpetuating oligarchy.
  • Whig: How secure was the Whig oligarchy that came to power at the death of Queen Anne in 1714?
  • small: Responsible for this situation is a small oligarchy of visible and invisible persons who want to impose their agenda for global domination.

Noun used with modifier

  • ruling: Salazar's economic policies greatly enhanced the wealth of the ruling oligarchy.
oligarchy Quotes

All governments use force and all assert that they are founded on reason. In fact, whether universal suffrage prevails or not, it is always an oligarchy that governs, finding ways to give to'the will of the people'the expression which the few desire.

—Pareto,Vilfredo

They that are discontented under monarchy call it tyranny; and they that are displeased with aristocracy call it oligarchy; so also, they which find themselves grieved under a democracy call it anarchy, which signifies the want of government; and yet I think no man believes that want of government is any new kind of government.

—Hobbes,Thomas