Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, powerful, or privileged group within a larger society or organization, typically characterized by superior intellectual, social, or economic status. It refers to those considered the best, most skilled, or most influential in a particular field or community.

Usage

• The term "elite group" is used to describe a select subset of people who hold a dominant position due to their advantages in areas like wealth, education, talent, or power. It is a neutral descriptive term but can carry connotations of exclusivity, whether positive (merit-based) or negative (unfair privilege).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The country's economic policies are often influenced by a small elite group of financiers and industrialists.
  • She was accepted into an elite group of researchers working on the project.
  • In many sports, the athletes who make it to the Olympics represent an elite group of competitors.

Advanced Usage

• "The ruling/power elite": A specific elite group that holds significant political power and makes major decisions affecting a society.
  • The protest was directed against the ruling elite, who were accused of corruption.
• "Cultural/intellectual elite": Refers to a group esteemed for its high achievements in arts, literature, or academia.
  • The novelist was celebrated among the intellectual elite but remained unknown to the general public.

Variants and Related Words

• Elite (noun/adjective): Can be used as a standalone noun ("the elite") or an adjective ("an elite university") with a very similar meaning to "elite group."
• Elitist (noun/adjective): Often used pejoratively to describe attitudes or systems that favor or are characteristic of an elite group.
  • His elitist views on art were unpopular with the critics.

Synonyms

• Upper class: The social group with the highest status, especially aristocracy or the very wealthy.
• Aristocracy: A class of people holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially hereditary nobility.
• Coterie: A small, exclusive group of people with shared interests or tastes.

Antonyms

• The masses: The ordinary people, the general population.
• The common people: People without special rank or position.
• The proletariat: (In Marxist theory) The class of workers who do not own the means of production.

Related Phrases

• "Inner circle": A small, most influential group within a larger organization.
  • Only his inner circle knew about the plan.
• "Cream of the crop": (Idiom) The best of a particular group.
  • These students are the cream of the crop.

Noun

1. a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status