conspiracy
Other forms: conspiracies
A conspiracy is a secret agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful or harmful act. A person who believes that the government is secretly controlled by power brokers, in flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution, is an example of a conspiracy theorist.
Conspiracy can also refer to the act of planning an unlawful or harmful act: Terrorists might be accused of organizing a conspiracy to overthrow the government. Conspiracy is ultimately from Latin cōnspīrāre "to agree or plot together, literally to breathe together." The corresponding English verb is conspire.
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a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
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synonyms:
cabal
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types:
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Gunpowder Plot
a conspiracy in 1605 in England to blow up James I and the Houses of Parliament to avenge the persecution of Catholics in England; led by Guy Fawkes
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type of:
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game, plot, secret plan
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
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Gunpowder Plot
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a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
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synonyms:
confederacy
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types:
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conspiracy of silence
a conspiracy not to talk about some situation or event
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type of:
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agreement, understanding
the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises
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conspiracy of silence
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a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose
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synonyms:
confederacy
/kənˈspɪrəsi/
/kənˈspirəsi/
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Vocabulary lists containing conspiracy
This scathing dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials is also an allegory of Senator Joseph McCarthy's pursuit of Communists in the 1950s.
Derived from Latin, the English suffix -acy in English means "the state of" or "the quality or condition of."
This list covers some of the basic words in Shakespeare's play about the assassination of the titular Roman ruler. You can find our lists covering more difficult words here. Here are links to our lists for the play: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, and Act V Here are links to our lists for other plays by William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Hamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream