Definition of conspire
conspired
;conspiring
transitive verb
intransitive verb
1a : 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 tradeb : 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
From the M-W Editors
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
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A Mississippi man was sentenced to federal prison this week for conspiring with his girlfriend to steal more than $1 million from a Birmingham surgical practice.
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The split left Fatah to rule the West Bank, Hamas to control Gaza, and both sides to conspire in an elaborate fiction that the two still form a single whole.
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His lawyers filed a $20 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing the government violated international law by not protecting its own citizen and conspired with the U.S. in its abuse of Khadr.
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His lawyers filed a $20 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing the government violated international law by not protecting its own citizen and conspired with the U.S. in its abuse of Khadr.
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His lawyers filed a $20 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing the government violated international law by not protecting its own citizen and conspired with the U.S. in its abuse of Khadr.
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His lawyers filed a $20 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing the government violated international law by not protecting its own citizen and conspired with the U.S. in its abuse of Khadr.
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The suit claimed three manufacturers - LG Chem Ltd. and LG Chem America Inc.; Hitachi Maxell Ltd. and Maxell Corporation of America; and NEC Corp. - conspired to fix prices for more than 10 years, the Clarion-Ledger reported.
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Lower moisture levels in the air, plus fewer clouds in the sky, conspire to send us slightly cooler temperatures.
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.
Origin and Etymology of conspire
Middle English, from Anglo-French conspirer, from Latin conspirare to be in harmony, conspire, from com- + spirare to breathe
CONSPIRE Defined for English Language Learners
conspire
playDefinition of conspire for English Language Learners
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: to secretly plan with someone to do something that is harmful or illegal
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: to happen in a way that produces bad or unpleasant results
CONSPIRE Defined for Kids
conspire
playDefinition of conspire for Students
conspired
;conspiring
1 : to make an agreement with others especially in secret to do an unlawful act
2 : to act together Events conspired to spoil our plans.
Law Dictionary
Origin and Etymology of conspire
Latin conspirare to be in harmony, to join in an unlawful agreement, from com- together + spirare to breathe
Learn More about conspire
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See words that rhyme with conspire Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for conspire Spanish Central: Translation of conspire Nglish: Translation of conspire for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of conspire for Arabic speakers
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