cronyism
noun
Did you know?
"Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him" (Ecclesiasticus 9:10). Practitioners of cronyism would probably agree. The word cronyism evolved in the 19th century as a spin-off of crony, meaning "friend" or "pal." Crony originated in England in the 17th century, perhaps as a play on the Greek word chronios, meaning "long-lasting," from chronos, meaning "time." Nineteenth-century cronyism was simply friendship, or the ability to make friends. The word didn't turn bad until the next century, when Americans starting using cronyism to refer to the act of playing political favorites.
Examples of cronyism in a Sentence
Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
Following a Delaware court’s decision to block Musk’s compensation package based on the evidence that the Tesla board was engaging in cronyism, WSJ is back with another banger connecting those board members to Musk.
—Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik, Quartz, 5 Feb. 2024
More than 10% of the district’s 370-employees have left their jobs since the takeover, with many saying in exit interviews that the district has been politicized and is now permeated by cronyism.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 6 Dec. 2023
Conservatives should never be ashamed to defend taxpayers against cronyism, even if it is supposedly carried out in the name of national defense.
—Dominic Pino, National Review, 14 Dec. 2023
Indeed, from the outside, her governorship was marked by quaintly conventional scandals, such as cronyism; The New York Times led a story about her by noting her iPod playlist.
—Ana Marie Cox, The New Republic, 16 Oct. 2023
The Obama-era loan office was tarred by accusations of cronyism; dollars had a way of going to the politically connected.
—Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
Since that time, Bill Belichick has labored to put together capable staffs, had been burned by cronyism and nepotism and spent free agent money on busts such as Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor.
—Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 4 July 2023
His campaign has run ads attacking Landry and Waguespack as political insiders while arguing that Schroder can fight the state’s corruption and cronyism.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cronyism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cronyism
Cite this Entry
“Cronyism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cronyism. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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