Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.
- noun Those making up such a government.
- noun A state governed by a few persons.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the hands of a small exclusive class; also, collectively, those who form such a class or body.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A form of government in which the supreme power is placed in the hands of a few persons; also, those who form the ruling few.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
government run by only a few, often thewealthy . - noun Those who make up an
oligarchic government. - noun A state ruled by such a government.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a political system governed by a few people
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" and "rule".
The Big Picture 2009
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The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" (ὀλίγios olígios) and "rule" (ἄρχeiv arkhein).
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And what manner of government do you term oligarchy?
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And what manner of government do you term oligarchy?
The Republic 427? BC-347? BC Plato 1855
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Another consequence of such default, Todd says, would be freeing economies and governments from control of what he calls the "oligarchy" of mega-rich investors whose fortunes and interests drive and shape bond markets -- and whose gain through safe government securities have influenced political leaders into building up huge public debt in the first place.
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And what manner of government do you term oligarchy?
The Republic of Plato Plato 1763
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Therefore, an oligarchy is actually a form of shared dictatorship in which the people have a limited role in the government.
ACPO blames front-line cops for doing their job SHOCK! « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2010
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But that first age of banking oligarchs came to an end with the passage of significant banking regulation in response to the Great Depression; the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent.
The Quiet Coup 2009
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But that first age of banking oligarchs came to an end with the passage of significant banking regulation in response to the Great Depression; the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent.
The Quiet Coup 2009
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But that first age of banking oligarchs came to an end with the passage of significant banking regulation in response to the Great Depression; the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent.
The Quiet Coup 2009
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