clannish

[klan-ish]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a clan.

2. inclined to associate exclusively with the members of one's own group; cliquish.

   the clannish behavior of the original members of the country club.

   Synonyms: narrow, aloof, distant, snobbish, exclusive

3. imbued with or influenced by the sentiments, prejudices, or the like, of a clan.

clannish

/ ˈklænɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of a clan

2. tending to associate closely within a limited group to the exclusion of outsiders; cliquish

Other Word Forms

• clannishly adverb
• clannishness noun
• unclannish adjective
• unclannishly adverb
• unclannishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of clannish¹

First recorded in 1770–80; clan + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

The model relies on a dramatic shift in relations among officers and prisoners, two historically warring factions in a system built on clannish gamesmanship for survival.

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It has that common pervasive dampness along with plenty of clannish townspeople who resent these nosy Nellies poking around where they have no business.

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University officials who bought into longstanding stereotypes of Jews as clannish, conniving, and socially undesirable worried that admitting Jews would taint the reputation of the schools.

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It was there that he developed his checkerboard model, examining the interactions among various groups at the internment camps: the “clannish” Nisei; children of Japanese immigrants; more reclusive detainees; and camp administrators.

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Was Mr. Murdaugh an abnormal holdover from a vanishing, clannish South Carolina culture where small groups of wealthy white men held special privilege?

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