cadre

Definition of Cadre

(noun) A small group of influential people that lead a larger organization; nucleus.

Examples of Cadre

• A small group of highly trained people in an organization that directs technological development.
• A few people in social movement that organize and guide it.
• Political “movers and shakers” determined who would be nominated for local office.

Cadre Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ca·dre

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈkædri/
• British English – /ˈkɑːdə/

Usage Notes

• Plural: cadres
• Often a cadre formed the initial organization and trains others reproducing their worldview.
• Also called cell.

Additional Information

• Word origin of “cadre” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Skotheim, Robert Allen. 1971. Totalitarianism and American Social Thought. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Related Terms

• authoritarianism
• group
• hegemony
• oligarchy
• totalitarianism

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Works Consulted

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Farlex. (N.d.) TheFreeDictionary.com: Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Farlex. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Reference. (http://www.oxfordreference.com/).

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Cadre

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cadre.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/cadre/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

cadre. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/cadre/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “cadre.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/cadre/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“cadre.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/cadre/>.