What does oligarchy mean?
Word: Oligarchy
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Oligarchy means a form of government in which a small group of people holds all the power. It can also mean a state run this way.
How do you spell oligarchy?
Syllables: ol - i - gar - chy
Tricky part: The end is the hard part. The ch makes a k sound, so students write oligarky, but the word closes just as monarchy does.
Watch out for: oligarky, oligarchie
Memory tip: Monarchy and oligarchy are both about who rules, so learn them together and their endings will match.
Oligarchy in a sentence
Example 1: The ancient city was governed by an oligarchy of rich landowners.
Example 2: Our history teacher set us a debate on whether an oligarchy can ever be fair.
Example 3: In the novel, a small oligarchy of families controls all the island's trade.
Fun Fact
Ancient Greek thinkers such as Aristotle sorted governments by how many people held power: one, a few or many. Oligarchy was the word for rule by a wealthy few.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
In our civics lesson we learnt that the port was once an olagarchy run by a handful of wealthy merchant families.
a) lesson
b) olagarchy
c) merchant
d) civics
Show answer
b) olagarchy. The vowel in the second syllable is an i.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters to find the word that fits the sentence:
A few rich cloth traders turned the old hill town into their own gohlcariy.
a) hierarchy
b) patriarchy
c) oligarchy
d) monarchy
Show answer
c) oligarchy. An l, a g and a y with no m, e or t: nine letters that spell one word.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word oligarchy as used in the sentence:
The valley was an oligarchy for two centuries until all adults won the vote.
a) dictatorship
b) autocracy
c) aristocracy
d) democracy
Show answer
d) democracy. Once every adult can vote, power rests with the people, and that is a democracy.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word.
1. oligarchy 2. impecable 3. nostelgia 4. gratuitus
a) a longing for happy times gone by
b) done without good reason
c) without any fault
d) a state controlled by a powerful few
Show answer
d) a state controlled by a powerful few. Check the a in nostalgia, the o in gratuitous and the double c in impeccable: all three have gone wrong in the list.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which school council works most like an oligarchy?
a) Three seniors decide everything for all.
b) Each class elects one member every year.
c) Anyone may speak and every vote counts.
d) The whole school votes on every question.
Show answer
a) Three seniors decide everything for all.
2. How does this form of rule differ from a monarchy?
a) Its leaders never live in the capital.
b) Power rests with several people, not one.
c) It has no laws or officials of any kind.
d) Every citizen holds exactly equal power.
Show answer
b) Power rests with several people, not one.
