Skip to main content
cliquey

cliquey

2 7.7
Likely to form small groups of friends that exclude others
  • adjective
  • /ˈklɪki/
  • Informal
translation icon : exclusivo
  • Non-denominational churches tend to be huge and impersonal or as cliquey as any college sorority.

Examples

  • Intellectuals though I count myself among them... are very cliquey if you're not on their level.

  • And comics are cliquey enough as it is without enabling that kind of groupthink.

    Blog text (13)
  • Why does it always have to be so cliquey here?

  • This community is damn cliquey, to the point that it's getting sickening.

    Blog text (32)
  • Not that I'm scared of being murdered, just that the thought that so many folks hate me now, and not just the cliquey folks at my college, but folks all over the Internet, is enough to make me tremble slightly.

    Blog text (31)
  • If Old Digg was once plagued by cliquey power users, the new wave is bathed in anonymity.

    Blog text (3)
  • As usual, the other girls have gone to the diner across the street where the air is on, but Caitlin and I are in the hot seat, ordered to stay close by; besides, Philidance is pretty cliquey and Caitlin doesn't get along with people so well.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The camp was anything but cliquey; though I was terrified that in-school norms would apply, the four boys and 10 girls, ages 12-16, achieved not only parity but also friendship.

    Blog text (27)
  • If anything, I’d call her deep waters, and she was alone in that camp because the counselors are mostly kids who used to be campers here: rich, cliquey kids from the Ivy Leagues.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • At her new school, she felt the groups were very cliquey and hard to join.

Synonyms

exclusive
vscliquey
399 5.4

Only for one person, group, or purpose and not shared

is specifically about small groups and excluding others rather than limit broadly
clubby
vscliquey
2 7.5

A place or group that is friendly to members but keeps new people out

is more general about small exclusive social groups than club feel
cliquish
vscliquey
  • Informal
1 8.2

Forming small groups that make other people feel unwelcome

is more about belonging than actively excluding others
clannish
vscliquey
1 8.2

Prefers to be with a small close group and excludes other people

is about forming or belonging rather than loyalty or kinship
clicky
vscliquey
  • Informal
8.5

Unfriendly and not welcoming to people outside a small group

is about joining or belonging rather than mere unfriendly appearance

Antonyms

579 1.0

Not decided and still possible to change

88 4.1

Including all the things or people mentioned, even the limits

66 1.0

A friendly way of acting that makes people feel comfortable

How Exclusive

exclusive
399 5.4
cliquey
  • Informal
2 7.7
friendly
773 1.0
inclusive
88 4.1

Surface Forms

cliquey positive
cliquier comparative
cliquiest superlative

Morphology

cliquey = clique (transparent) = clique + y

Formed by adding the productive adjective-forming suffix '-y' to 'clique', yielding 'having the qualities of a clique', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Cliquey comes from the word clique, which means 'small, closed group'. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine people who click together and leave others out, so a cliquey place or group is hard to join.