conspiracy

Definition

An agreement or arrangement between multiple parties to do something harmful, immoral or subversive; an instance of collusion.

Etymology

From Middle English conspiracie, from Anglo-Norman conspiracie, from Latin cōnspīrātiō, from conspire + -acy.

Example Sentences

• "Conspiracies, like all other exercises of human ingenuity, are of very different kinds. The gloomy plots arranged in old Italian halls..."
• "And you may have noticed that those who are too quick to shout 'conspiracy theorist' are equally swift, when consequences for authority and consensus impend, to look serious and say 'It's more complicated than that.' These have become standard damage-control reflexes."
• "Modern political religions may reject Christianity, but they cannot do without demonology. The Jacobins, the Bolsheviks and the Nazis all believed in vast conspiracies against them, as do radical Islamists today. It is never the flaws of human nature that stand in the way of Utopia. It is the workings of evil forces."

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