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Core meaning
A system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
Example
Decisions moved slowly through the administrative hierarchy.
hierarchy
/ˈhaɪərɑːki/ · HY-uh-rar-keenoun
A system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
Use hierarchy to express this relationship precisely: a system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
What hierarchy Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
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Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
The classification creates a hierarchy of evidence.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The cooperative replaced a rigid hierarchy with shared authority.
Use hierarchy Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Decisions moved slowly through the administrative hierarchy.
The classification creates a hierarchy of evidence.
The cooperative replaced a rigid hierarchy with shared authority.
Precision Matters
Hierarchy overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
hierarchy
vs.Means a system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
autonomy
Means the right or ability to govern, decide, or act independently without outside control.
hierarchy
vs.Means a system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
eclectic
Means drawing ideas, styles, or elements from a wide and diverse range of sources.
hierarchy
vs.Means a system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
morass
Means a confusing, complicated, or difficult situation from which progress or escape is hard; literally, boggy ground.
hierarchy
vs.Means a system in which people, groups, or things are ranked at different levels of authority, status, or importance.
elite
Means belonging to or selected as the most skilled, powerful, privileged, or successful group.
Test hierarchy in Context
The system arranges people at ordered levels of authority.
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In the military ___, a captain holds a different rank from a general.