conspiracy

/kən'spirəsi/

Thân thiện

A group of people whisper in a dark room, planning a conspiracy.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful: A "conspiracy" is a secret agreement between two or more people to commit an illegal, wrongful, or treacherous act, often against a government or authority.
   • The act of conspiring: The action of making such a secret plan.
   • A group of conspirators: The group of people involved in such a secret plan.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The three men were arrested for their conspiracy to overthrow the government.
  • The investigation uncovered a conspiracy to defraud the company's investors.
  • She was accused of being part of the conspiracy.

Advanced Usage

• "Conspiracy of silence": An agreement to keep silent about a subject for the purpose of keeping it secret.
  • There was a conspiracy of silence among the officials regarding the scandal.
• "Conspiracy theory": A belief that some secret but influential organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon.
  • He dismissed the claims as a baseless conspiracy theory.

Variants and Related Words

• Conspire (verb): To secretly plan together to commit an illegal or wrongful act.
  • The rebels conspired against the king.
• Conspirator (noun): A person who takes part in a conspiracy.
  • The conspirators met in secret.
• Conspiratorial (adjective): Relating to or suggestive of a conspiracy.
  • He gave me a conspiratorial wink.

Synonyms

• Plot: A secret plan made for a particular purpose, typically to bring about an illegal or harmful outcome.
• Scheme: A large-scale systematic plan or arrangement for attaining a particular object, often underhanded.
• Intrigue: The secret planning of something illicit or detrimental.

Related Phrases

• To hatch a conspiracy: To devise or form a conspiracy.
  • They hatched a conspiracy to steal the documents.
• A web of conspiracy: A complex, interconnected series of secret plots.
  • The novel involves a tangled web of conspiracy and deceit.

Related Idioms

• A conspiracy against: A secret plan aimed at harming a specific person, group, or institution.
  • He felt there was a conspiracy against him at work.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose
2. a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
3. a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act

Từ đồng nghĩa

• confederacy
• cabal