cronyism
Syllables: cro·ny·i·sm/ˈkɹəʊnɪɪz(ə)m/US/ˈkɹoʊniˌɪzəm/
cronyism noun: favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications; especially (politics), in their appointment to political positions.
Noun
cronyism (countable and uncountable, plural cronyisms)
- Favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications; especially (politics), in their appointment to political positions.
- [T]he present structure of the collective bargaining agreement, combined with nepotism and cronyism and other abuses in employment and referral practices, have perpetuated the effects of the past discrimination, […]1974 September 19, Lawrence W[arren] Pierce, United States District Judge, “Memorandum Opinion and Order”, in John R. Patterson, et al., Plaintiffs, v Newspaper and Mail Deliverers’ Union of New York...
- [Robert L.] Hagist began what he called an "18 month reform program" that included revised warehouse procedures and measures to prevent the leakages, shortages, cronyisms, and politicking attributed to the managers and clerks of the various stores.1988, Norman H. Clark, “Booze and Politics, 1933–83”, in The Dry Years: Prohibition and Social Change in Washington, revised edition, Seattle, Wash.; London: University of Washington Press, →ISBN...
- The condition of being friends; friendship; also, the ability or inclination to make friends.
- [T]he preacher […] was reading to them the duty of loving one another as Christians, But only particularly and exclusively were they to love one another "as Christians," that is as confederates and caballers together in a particular interest, distinct from that of the great family of mankind; […]...1829 June 26, Robert Taylor, “Characterism of Leeds”, in The Lion, volume III, number 26, London: Richard Carlile, […], →OCLC, page 813
- Our friend the Old Crony, we see, for all his connoisseurship and crony-ism, his regard for a certain piquancy of perfection in the French dress and walk, and his wish that his fair countrywomen would "take steps" after their fashion, cannot get rid of the preference in which he was brought up for...1840, Leigh Hunt, “English and French Females. Their Costumes and Bearing.”, in The Seer; or, Common-places Refreshed. […], part I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 73, column 1
cronyism meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog and Arabic
cronyism in Hindi
- favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications
- दोस्तवाद dostavād
cronyism in Urdu
- favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications
- احباب پروری ahbāb-parvarī
cronyism in Tagalog
- favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications
- kroniismo, kronismo, kroniyismo
cronyism in Arabic
- favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications
- وَاسِطَة wāsiṭa
More languagesFewer languages
- cronyism in Malay
- kronisme
- cronyism in Indonesian
- kronisme
- cronyism in Persian
- بند «پ» band-e "pe", دوستگماری dust-gomâri, پارتی بازی pârti-bâzi, آشنابازی âšnâ-bâzi
- cronyism in Vietnamese
- chủ nghĩa thân hữu
Examples of cronyism in a sentence
- Patronage, nepotism, cronyism, abuse of power, and criminal activity flourish, sometimes for decades, in numerous town halls, police stations, and special-purpose government agencies in the suburbs.2015, Thomas J. Gradel, Dick Simpson, “Suburban Scandals”, in Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality, Urbana; Chicago...
- Critics accuse her [von der Leyen] of serious missteps over the pandemic, the Gaza war, alleged cronyism, – and of having a high-handed manner.2024 May 4, Simon Tisdall, “Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, the double act that is steering the EU ever rightwards”, in The...
- The first was their fondness for religious gossiping, or cronyism, which made them regardless of their time, &c.1854, George Redford, John Angell James, “Part II. Supplement to the Autobiography of the Rev. William Jay.”, in George Redford, John...
- Pea-green Hayne was one of my most intimate friends; we occupied rooms vis à vis, and made prison life more than endurable by affectionate cronyism.[1860], [Renton Nicholson], chapter XVIII, in The Lord Chief Baron Nicholson. An Autobiography, London: George Vickers, […], →OCLC, page...
Synonyms of cronyism
Forms of cronyism
| plural | cronyisms |
|---|---|
| alternative form | croneyism |
Origin of cronyism
From crony (“close friend”) + -ism (suffix forming names of a tendency of action, behaviour, condition, opinion, or state belonging to a class or group of persons).
Questions about cronyism
- What does cronyism mean?
- Cronyism means favouritism to friends without regard for their qualifications; especially (politics), in their appointment to political positions.
- What is cronyism in Hindi?
- Cronyism in Hindi is दोस्तवाद (dostavād). See Cronyism meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use cronyism in a sentence?
- Patronage, nepotism, cronyism, abuse of power, and criminal activity flourish, sometimes for decades, in numerous town halls, police stations, and special-purpose government agencies in the suburbs.
- What part of speech is cronyism?
- Cronyism is a noun.
- How do you pronounce cronyism?
- Cronyism is pronounced /ˈkɹəʊnɪɪz(ə)m/ (UK).
- What is the plural of cronyism?
- The plural of cronyism is cronyisms.
Words near cronyism in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cronyism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-cronyism.wav.
Cite this entry: “cronyism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cronyism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.