hierarchical
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hierarchical
Explanation
If something is hierarchical it has clear levels of power and importance, such as a hierarchical corporation that has the boss at the top, or the hierarchical social order of junior high school popularity. It's lonely at the top. That pretty much sums up hierarchical, pronounced "high-eh-RAR-ki-cal." In a hierarchical structure, people or groups are arranged according to ability or status. It helps to think of a triangle, with the leader at the highest point, layers of managers under him or her, and at the base, or widest part, the masses of workers who make up the largest part of the organization.
Vocabulary lists containing hierarchical
Reading: Informational - High School
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Sapiens
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Guns, Germs, and Steel
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Because of this layered arrangement, collagen is described as a hierarchical material.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was hierarchical and stressful, but it was not because of my fellow writers, except that I wanted to impress them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
The last is a huge boost in status in North Korea's deeply hierarchical society.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
The carrier was “too hierarchical, way too bureaucratic, way too process-oriented as opposed to outcomes-oriented,” Schulman told investors at a Morgan Stanley event last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
For all the cognitive benefits of hierarchical organization, not all texts have to be organized into a tree.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
