hierarchical

adjective

hi·​er·​ar·​chi·​cal ˌhī-(ə-)ˈrär-ki-kəl 

 also  hir-ˈär-

variants or hierarchic

ˌhī-(ə-)ˈrär-kik 

 also  hir-ˈär-

: of, relating to, or arranged in a hierarchy

a hierarchical society

a hierarchical order in the church

hierarchically

ˌhī-(ə-)ˈrär-ki-k(ə-)lē 

 also  hir-ˈär-

adverb

Examples of hierarchical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What immediately resonated with me was the collective’s deep commitment to collaboration and its genuinely non-hierarchical structure. —Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025

By combining hierarchical planning, reinforcement learning, and motion data drawn from human players, the project provides a blueprint for building robots that are efficient and intuitive in their movements. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2025

Employers must adapt by offering non-hierarchical paths and coaching to work effectively with this future workforce, which will comprise 74% of the global workforce by 2030. —Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Hierarchy With a hierarchical workplace culture, roles, responsibilities and job descriptions are clearly communicated. —Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see hierarchy

First Known Use

1561, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hierarchical

• anti-hierarchical

Rhymes for hierarchical

• oligarchical
• anarchical

Kids Definition

hierarchical

adjective

hi·​er·​ar·​chi·​cal ˌhī-(ə-)ˈrär-ki-kəl 

variants or hierarchic

-kik 

: of, relating to, or arranged in a hierarchy

hierarchically

-ˈrär-ki-k(ə-)lē 

adverb