Refers to an exclusive group bound by shared interests, background, or loyalty, often within politics, business, or institutions. Frequently used as a suffix in compounds like 学閥 (academic clique) or 派閥 (faction).
The younger employees started forming a clique within the company.
He belongs to a powerful faction within the party.
That company has an academic clique.
There has long been factionalism within that university.
He belongs to a powerful faction.
グループ is a neutral word for any group, while 閥 specifically implies an exclusive, often influential clique bound by loyalty or interest.
The kanji 閥 originally referred to a powerful family or clan. In modern Japanese, it has broadened to mean any exclusive group or faction, often with a negative connotation of in-group favoritism.
non-factional; unaffiliated with a political faction
Satsuma clan; Satsuma faction
Zhejiang financial clique; Sekko Zaibatsu