clientelism in English dictionary clientelism Meanings and definitions of "clientelism" A political system based on personal relations rather than personal merits, like a meritocracy. noun A political system based on personal relations rather than personal merits. more Grammar and declension of clientelism clientelism ( countable and uncountable; plural clientelisms) clientelism (countable and uncountable, plural clientelisms) more Clientelism Sample sentences with "clientelism" Declension Stem Try again Available translations Bulgarian Chinese French German Greek Irish Italian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovenian Spanish Swedish Tamil Authors