cliquish
/ˈkliːkɪʃ/
"cliquish" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cliquish” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to a clique.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cliquish |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkliːkɪʃ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cliquish” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
cliquish is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈkliːkɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for cliquish in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From clique + -ish. The correct English form is cliquish, spelled C-L-I-Q-U-I-S-H.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to a clique.
- 2Tending to associate with a small and exclusive group.
Etymology
From clique + -ish.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cliquish”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-I-Q-U-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkliːkɪʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.