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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

oligarchy

/ˈɑlɪˌɡɑɹki/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:57
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What does oligarchy mean?

noun

  1. A government run by and for only a few, often the aristocracy, the wealthy, or their friends and associates.
  2. A state ruled by such a government.
  3. Those who make up an oligarchic government.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈɑlɪˌɡɑɹki/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈoʊlɪˌɡɑɹki/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

To sustain their supremacy in the political field, governments and politicians allied themselves to the new industrial oligarchy.
Margaret SangerThe Pivot of CivilizationProject Gutenberg ebook #1689
This was the color and pretense made use of by those who desired to change the government of Athens to an oligarchy.
PlutarchPlutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and RomansProject Gutenberg ebook #674
More book examples (3)
The good which oligarchy proposed to itself and the means by which it was maintained was excess of wealth—am I not right?
PlatoThe RepublicTranslated by Benjamin JowettProject Gutenberg ebook #1497
America had ceased to be a republic and was an oligarchy of wealth all owned by a dozen great families while the millions were starving.
James J. (James John) DavisThe Iron Puddler: My Life in the Rolling Mills and What Came of ItProject Gutenberg ebook #1297
I, for instance, disbelieve in oligarchy; so I would no more mend the House of Lords than I would mend a thumbscrew.
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) ChestertonWhat's Wrong with the WorldProject Gutenberg ebook #1717