Words / C1

HEYE-uh-rahk-ee/ˈhaɪərɑːki/

A hierarchy is a ranking of people or things: a hierarchy of needs, organisational hierarchy. Hierarchical is the adjective. Rank is everyday; pecking order is informal. Anarchy is no ruler — not a precise opposite. Do not deny a hierarchy exists because the organogram says “flat”.

Meaning

A system in which people or things are ranked one above another.

Examples

• “A flat team still had a hierarchy when the budget was signed.”
• “When the budget was signed, the “flat” team still had a hierarchy.”
• “A hierarchy of evidence in medicine is a ranking of study types, not of people.”

Good to know

A ranked order. Adjective: hierarchical. Everyday: rank. Informal: pecking order. “Flat” teams still have one at money-time.

Near in meaning

ranking

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