oligarchy
Other forms: oligarchies
Does it ever feel like just a few people have all the power? If it's a government that's run like this, it's an oligarchy. A country that has this form of government is an oligarchy too.
The political term, oligarchy, comes to English from the Greek with its meaning intact — a form of government run by a small number of people such as wealthy landowners, royalty or powerful military figures. If you say that you can't fight the oligarchy, you mean the leaders of such a place. Sometimes the word refers to the few powerful people in charge of a large company or system. A financial oligarchy might try to block reform.
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Vocabulary lists containing oligarchy
Learn these words derived from the Greek root arch, which carries two powerful meanings: "chief or ruler" and "beginning or ancient."
Words selected by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Susan B. Anthony was arrested when she illegally voted in the 1872 presidential election. She delivered this argument for women's suffrage in 1873. Read the full text here.