Definition of "clannish" [clan•nish]

• Of, relating to, or characteristic of a clan. (adjective)
• Inclined to cling together as a group and exclude outsiders. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Italians were thought to be violent criminals; the Hungarians, Russians, Poles, and various others in the late 19 th and early 20th centuries were characterized as clannish, speaking their own languages, and being a threat to "American civilization"."
• "Caught between a rock and a hard place, Jews were condemned for clinging too closely to their identity and heritage as Jews, for being "clannish," at the same time that they were denounced as overly aggressive, as social climbers who pushed their way into a society that did not welcome them. 13"
• "It's kind of clannish if you'll allow me to us that word."