conspire

verb con·spire \ kən-ˈspī(-ə)r \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Definition of conspire

conspired; conspiring

: plot, contrive

1 a : to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement

accused of conspiring to overthrow the government

conspired to monopolize and restrict trade

b : scheme

2 : to act in harmony toward a common end

Circumstances conspired to defeat his efforts.

… the sun and the wind conspired to make splinters out of solid wood.
—B. J. Oliphant

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Examples of conspire in a Sentence

conspired to replace the leader with someone more easily influenced
foul weather and airline foul-ups seemed to be conspiring to ruin our vacation

Recent Examples of conspire from the Web

Qin pleaded not guilty to one count of visa fraud, one count of conspiring to commit violation of export regulations, and visa fraud charges, according to records.

— john r. ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Wellesley man arrested in alleged export plot tied to marine equipment," 6 July 2018
The genius of the picture is that even its wildest, most boundary-pushing formulations are tied to a thoughtful, rigorous thesis about how disparities of race, class and money conspire to keep ruthless systems of human oppression in place.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "Review: Boots Riley's 'Sorry to Bother You' is an arrestingly surreal satire on class rage and cultural identity," 5 July 2018
That has all conspired to send prices sharply higher.

— anatoly kurmanaev, WSJ, "Russia Takes Outsize Role in Boosting Oil Supply," 3 July 2018
According to a federal indictment, Lisa Hofschulz, 58, who also practices in Florida, and Robert Hofschulz, 70, conspired to distribute the drugs to customers who didn't have a legitimate medical need for them.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Owner of a Wauwatosa pain clinic is charged as part of a nationwide opioids crackdown," 29 June 2018
Circumstances, perhaps ones Democrats could and should have guarded against, have conspired to make their maneuvering look increasingly bad.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Democrats’s nuclear-option gamble is coming up snake-eyes," 29 June 2018
Despite minor league pitching call-ups Jimmy Yacabonis and Yefry Ramírez’s combined nine innings of two-run ball, the Orioles’ sloppy defense and shaky relief corps conspired for a 4-2, 10-inning loss, their fifth straight.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles swept by Mariners, 4-2, despite strong efforts from Yacabonis, Ramírez," 28 June 2018
The ex-police chief and two officers allegedly conspired over their impropriety, as well.

— caitlin wolper, Teen Vogue, "A 16-Year-Old Was Allegedly Framed by Police Eager for Perfect Arrest Statistics," 13 June 2018
On May 30, 1921, thousands of white Tulsans instigated a race riot, brutally attacking the town’s African-American community—machine guns and even airplanes dropping turpentine conspired to destroy Greenwood.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "10 Streets that Changed America," 5 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conspire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.