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Glite Dictionary
cliquishness

cliquishness

1 9.3
A habit of spending time only with a small group and ignoring others
  • noun
  • /ˈklɪkɪʃnəs/
translation icon : exclusividad
  • Many people dislike the cliquishness of the exclusive club that doesn't welcome newcomers.

Examples

  • The cliquishness in her friend group made it hard for new students to join.

  • Didn't the nomination of artists by not-so-anonymous directors simply restore the cliquishness of the establishment museum in a new form?

    Academic text (1992)

  • This cliquishness has led to disaster.

    Blog text (27)

  • I do think there's a link between those criticisms and the kind of cliquishness I'm talking about here.

    Blog text (13)

  • Teenagers can be savage, and when you add political sin to cliquishness, you have a ravenous hegemony.

    Academic text (2016)

  • I was passive-aggressive, maybe, also, in that I didn't spell out that the critiques of cliquishness.

    Blog text (13)

  • Indeed, that is a key point of my post: there is a difference between arbitrary cliquishness (excluding people merely because they are different) and objectively justifiable cliquishness (excluding people because they don't understand the value of difference and thus don't enjoy the company of it).

    Blog text (13)

  • Indeed, that is a key point of my post: there is a difference between arbitrary cliquishness (excluding people merely because they are different) and objectively justifiable cliquishness (excluding people because they don't understand the value of difference and thus don't enjoy the company of it).

    Blog text (13)

  • His cliquishness was evident when he only invited his close friends to the party.

Synonyms

exclusiveness
vscliquishness
1 6.8

Limiting who can join to a small, chosen group

is a tendency to avoid others rather than only restricting access
clannishness
vscliquishness
8.6

A habit of staying close to a small group and avoiding outsiders

emphasizes avoiding others and excluding people outside the group
clubbiness
vscliquishness
7.2

Friendly behaviour in a small group that excludes outsiders

is the tendency to stay with a small group and avoid others

Antonyms

openness
22 3.5

Being honest and clear about your actions and intentions

inclusiveness
7 3.8

Making everyone feel welcome and treating them fairly

How Exclusive

exclusivity
8 6.7
insularity
2 9.4
cliquishness
1 9.3
openness
35 3.9
sociability
2 3.6

Surface Forms

cliquishness singular
cliquishnesses plural

Morphology

cliquishness = cliquish (transparent) = clique + ish + ness

Formed by adding the productive noun-forming suffix '-ness' to the adjective 'cliquish' (itself 'clique' + '-ish'), so the meaning 'the quality or state of being cliquish' is directly derived.

Etymology

Cliquishness comes from the French word clique meaning 'a small, closed group', with the parts -ish ('like') and -ness ('state'). So cliquishness is the 'state of being like a clique', meaning the habit of sticking to a small circle and excluding others.