Cronyism

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  A specific form of in-group favoritism characterized by partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, particularly within politics and between politicians and their supportive organizations.

• Connotation

  Pejorative, implying the exchange of favors (e.g., votes, desirable ambassadorships).

• Common Practice

  Appointing individuals to positions of authority based on personal connections rather than qualifications.

• Etymology Shift

  Acquired its negative connotation of political favoritism in the 20th century.

• Primary Context

  Politics, government procurement

• Etymology Origin

  Derived from 'crony' (meaning 'friend' or 'pal') in the 19th century.

Timeline

• The word 'cronyism' evolved in the 19th century from 'crony', meaning 'friend' or 'pal'. (Source: Merriam-Webster)

  1800-01-01

• The word 'cronyism' began to be used pejoratively in the 20th century to refer to political favoritism. (Source: Merriam-Webster)

  1900-01-01

• Joe Lonsdale called for fundamental acquisition reform and the implementation of transparent open standards as direct countermeasures to endemic cronyism in government procurement during an episode of the All-In Podcast. (Source: Document e5a1c16b-e8a8-479e-9359-6482ace95c6c)

  2024-01-01

Cronyism

Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. This is in contrast to a meritocracy, in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places.

Web Search Results

• CRONYISM Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

  The word cronyism evolved in the 19th century as a spin-off of crony, meaning “friend” or “pal.” In its younger days, cronyism simply meant “friendship,” or “the ability to make friends.” The word didn’t turn bad until the next century, when Americans starting using it to refer to the act of playing political favorites. If cronyism is new to your vocabulary, perhaps you’re more familiar with the related term nepotism, meaning “favoritism based on kinship, especially in professional and [...] Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! ## More from Merriam-Webster Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word. ### Can you solve 4 words at once? ### Can you solve 4 words at once? #### Word of the Day #### sui generis Listen to the pronunciation of sui generis See Definitions and Examples » Get Word of the Day daily email! [...] Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word. Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points. Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing? anagrams on a chalk board Learn a new word every day. Delivered to your inbox!

• CRONYISM Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

  Advertisement Skip to cronyism Advertisement # cronyism [kroh-nee-iz-uhm] ## noun the practice of favoring one's close friends, especially in political appointments. cronyism / ˈkrəʊnɪˌɪzəm / ## noun the practice of appointing friends to high-level, esp political, posts regardless of their suitability ## Word History and Origins Origin of cronyism1 ## Compare Meanings How does cronyism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons: [...] He accused MBN management of entering into needless, multimillion-dollar expansions of bureaus that went wildly over budget, all amid a culture of cronyism that often left the wrong people in place for too long. Such protectionism has also led to allegations of cronyism. [...] The signs include “identification of enemies as a unifying cause,” “controlled mass media,” “corporate power protected,” “labor power suppressed,” “disdain for intellectuals and the arts,” “obsession with crime and punishment,”and “rampant cronyism & corruption.” Advertisement ## When To Use Advertisement carambola ad carousel Advertisement Advertisement #### Browse Follow us Get the Word of the Day every day!

• Understanding Political Cronyism vs Capitalism - Capitalism.org

  Capitalism is a political-economic system based on the principle of individual rights, which means the separation of state and economics (just like the separation of church and state). Under capitalism, the government’s sole purpose is to protect each individual’s rights equally. It is a system of justice. Cronyism is the practice of giving rewards based on considerations other than merit: it is a form of injustice. [...] Under laissez-faire capitalism , outside the protection of individual rights, government’s job is “hand’s off.” Under capitalism, cronyism is outlawed in the political sphere ### “Crony capitalism” is not capitalism, but political cronyism Cronyism, in a political context, is the government granting political favors and privileges to one party at the expense of the rights of others. Examples include: The proper term for such a policy is not “crony capitalism” but political cronyism. [...] This site uses cookies to measure site traffic to improve this site. You can opt-out here: Accept X Collectivism & Statism # What is “Crony Capitalism”? “Crony capitalism” is not capitalism, but political cronyism: the granting of political favors by the government to one’s friends (“cronies”) at the expense of the rights of others.

• Cronyism Overview & Examples | Study.com

  An example of cronyism is appointing a friend who is an unexperienced judge to the U.S. Supreme Court rather than a qualified, experienced judge.

• CRONYISM | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

  © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025 ## Learn more with +Plus ## Learn more with +Plus Cambridge Dictionary Cambridge Dictionary To add cronyism to a word list please sign up or log in. Add cronyism to one of your lists below, or create a new one. {{message}} {{message}} Something went wrong. {{message}} {{message}} Something went wrong. {{message}} {{message}} There was a problem sending your report. {{message}} {{message}} There was a problem sending your report. [...] Cambridge Dictionary # Meaning of cronyism in English Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio ## Examples of cronyism ## Translations of cronyism Get a quick, free translation! ## Browse {{randomImageQuizHook.quizId}} {{randomImageQuizHook.quizId}} Gaffes and blunders (Different types of mistakes) Blog Gaffes and blunders (Different types of mistakes) © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025

Cronyism is the practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. This is in contrast to a meritocracy, in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, as doing favors to organizations, giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places, etc. Cronyism is a specific form of favoritism.