ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē
as in ladder
a scheme of rank or order
honesty sits at the top of my hierarchy of values
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hierarchy
Which leaves his sons, Raj (Saagar Shaikh) and Mir (Asif Ali), to claim their places atop a hierarchy of gangsters they’d been led to believe was a legitimate business.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 28 Mar. 2025
Where first or second cousins were married, wives are grouped next to their spouse rather than beneath their parents in the hierarchy.
—NPR, 24 Mar. 2025
And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being queen consort, there was going to be people or bodies left in the street.
—Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2025
In the other corner: Vito Genovese, Costello’s childhood friend and fellow racketeer, who had to leave town long ago because of a thing, and has now come home to resume his place in the Mafia hierarchy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hierarchy
Judy Berman, Time, 28 Mar. 2025
Where first or second cousins were married, wives are grouped next to their spouse rather than beneath their parents in the hierarchy.
—NPR, 24 Mar. 2025
And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being queen consort, there was going to be people or bodies left in the street.
—Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2025
In the other corner: Vito Genovese, Costello’s childhood friend and fellow racketeer, who had to leave town long ago because of a thing, and has now come home to resume his place in the Mafia hierarchy.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hierarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hierarchy
Noun
-
Djokovic’s legs have begun to stagger the long way down the ladder too.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
-
The family had been climbing the economic ladder for years, saving enough to go on occasional vacations — once driving to Canada to visit relatives in Mr. Sancho-Persad’s father’s taxi, with the light turned off.—
Jonah Markowitz,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
That’s high praise for a player who until pretty recently was just trying to finish number-one in the PGA Tour University rankings.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Moana also returned to the movie rankings after two weeks outside the top 10 with 223 million minutes.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The other major factor here is that Joe Biden never forgave Barack Obama for putting his thumb on the scale for Hillary Clinton to become the nominee in 2016.—
Terry Gross,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Cocaine, marijuana, digital scales, cash and a couple of guns were found inside.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hierarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hierarchy. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share