If you describe a group of people or their behavior as cliquish, you mean they spend their time only with other members of the group and seem unfriendly towards people who are not in the group.
[disapproval]
...cliquish gossip.
cliquish in American English
(ˈklikɪʃ, ˈklɪkɪʃ)
adjective
1.
associating exclusively with the members of one's own clique; clannish
2.
tending to divide into cliques
a cliquish neighborhood
3.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a clique
narrow, cliquish notions about art
Derived forms
cliquishly
adverb
cliquishness
noun
Word origin
[1850–55; clique + -ish1]This word is first recorded in the period 1850–55. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: clear-cut, cloakroom, ethos, heavyweight, proletariat-ish is a suffix used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense of “belonging to”(British; Danish; English; Spanish); “after the manner of,” “having the characteristics of,” “like” (babyish; girlish; mulish); “addicted to,” “inclined or tending to” (bookish; freakish); “near or about” (fiftyish; sevenish)
Examples of 'cliquish' in a sentence
cliquish
And nothing is more cliquish than knowing the etiquette for a public occasion.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It offers facile encouragement to youths wishing to rebel against cliquish conformity and be true to themselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The message, that new music occupies the mainstream, not a cliquish corner, is a vital one.