crony

noun

ˈkrō-nē How to pronounce crony (audio)
Definition of cronynext
1
as in associate
a person frequently seen in the company of another the criminal's cronies were also closely questioned about the illegal gambling operation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in friend
a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another only my cronies can call me by my nickname

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crony No one wants this except Trump and his cronies, who are living in a fantasy world. — arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2025 Properties in San Francisco, across California, and in New York were often disguised under dummy corporations or linked to cronies. — Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025 Eric Adams has been a lousy mayor for the most part, one who couldn’t see the loaf for the crumbs and squandered his political capital on maintaining a dizzying array of corrupt friends and cronies. — Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025 Zoom in: The jury could not decide whether Madigan and McClain ran a secret system that placed political cronies at private companies like AT&T and ComEd in exchange for favorable legislation. — Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crony
  1. associate
  2. friend
  3. colleague
  4. buddy
  5. accomplice
  6. peer
  7. comrade
Noun
  • Shein, Temu will raise prices next week as a trade loophole closes In: Food & Drink Consumer Price Index Inflation United States Department of Agriculture Mary Cunningham Mary Cunningham is a news associate at CBS News, based in New York.
    — Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2025
  • One of his associates, JoMya Futch, pleaded guilty to bank robbery and perjury in the deal, announced Thursday by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Definition of associate
Noun
  • Listen to this article An emotional vigil that drew family, friends and community activists was held Wednesday for a beloved Harlem grandmother, businesswoman and community leader killed by a stray bullet in the crossfire of a shooting.
    — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Two witnesses took the stand on the first day of testimony, a friend of O'Keefe who was there when his body was found and a paramedic who tried to revive him.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
Definition of friend
Noun
  • This week, my fellow Wellness colleague and experienced runner, David Oliver, wrote an inspiring piece about a 77-year-old who ran the Boston marathon this week.
    — Sam Woodward, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The Factors That Can Impact Your Brain Health After examining 59 different meta-analyses, Singh and her colleagues found 17 risk factors for dementia, late-life depression, and stroke that overlapped with one another.
    — Cathy Cassata, Health, 24 Apr. 2025
Definition of colleague
Noun
  • But when McIlroy played it for the first time in 2024, with buddy Shane Lowry in a scheme apparently cooked up in a boozy post-Ryder Cup brunch, the pair found a way to A) have a great time in New Orleans, and B) win the tournament.
    — Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • On the opposite end of the scale, an American game streamer and his YouTuber buddy are ditching the smartphones that are the staple of their generation and attempting to cross Japan by motorbike without so much as a guidebook.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025
Definition of buddy
Noun
  • Some other sources, however, afford her considerably more credit: not merely an accomplice to the best acid ever made, but, potentially, its prime creator.
    — John Semley, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2025
  • His accomplice, Terry Nichols, was found guilty in 1997 of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and involuntary manslaughter, per The New York Times.
    — Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Definition of accomplice
Noun
  • Beyond artists like Catlett and Biggers – who have earned renown as influential masters, but not the art market compensation of their white peers – The Bronx Museum shines a spotlight on emerging artists whose work challenges cultural and social norms and whisks viewers out of their comfort zones.
    — Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Taking in the festivities firsthand felt like being a wallflower amid a room of my most interesting peers.
    — Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 14 Apr. 2025
Definition of peer
Noun
  • With Assad's ouster in December, Halaby, now 29, returned to his neighborhood of Jobar, on the edge of Damascus, to watch a backhoe unearth the remains of at least eight of his comrades from a mass grave.
    — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Another seems to half-pass out, either from exhaustion or shock, while tending to a wounded comrade.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of comrade

Browse Nearby Words

cronies
crony
cronyism
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Cite this Entry

“Crony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crony. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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