conspire

verb

con·spire | \kən-ˈspī(-ə)r

conspired; conspiring

Definition of conspire

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 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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about conspire

Keep scrolling for more

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 on the Web

The indictment charges 12 Russian military officers by name for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Rod Rosenstein announces Russian indictments: “Blame for election interference belongs to the criminals”," 13 July 2018 Special Counsel Robert Mueller unsealed an indictment on Friday against twelve Russian agents for conspiring to commit cyberattacks targeting Democrats and Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the most recent presidential election. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Truth Without Consequences," 13 July 2018 Last week a federal grand jury indicted Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime associate in Ukraine suspected by the US of links with the Kremlin, for conspiring to obstruct justice. — Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor, "Paul Manafort goes to jail: Three questions," 15 June 2018 Wright was sentenced to 28 years for conspiring to kill Americans on behalf of the Islamic State. — Danny Mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, "Estate of Roslindale terror suspect files $5 million lawsuit against federal government," 2 June 2018 Blankenship led the company that owned the mine and was sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring to break safety laws, a misdemeanor. — Steve Peoples And John Raby, chicagotribune.com, "GOP frets over West Virginia as 4 states decide primaries," 8 May 2018 Mitzi Bickers, a former city director of human services and a political consultant that helped Reed win the mayor’s race in 2009, was indicted in April for conspiring to accept bribes to help contractors win city business. — J. Scott Trubey, ajc, "New subpoena in City Hall bribery investigation," 2 May 2018 Blankenship led the company that owned the mine and was sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring to break safety laws, a misdemeanor. — CBS News, "In West Virginia, ex-con candidate compounds GOP problems," 28 Apr. 2018 One of the biggest and most shocking cases at the time involved James Durward Harper Jr., who was given a life sentence for conspiring to sell secrets for missile technology to Polish intelligence. — Nick Bilton, The Hive, "“Threats,” “Ultimatums,” and “Espionage”: Inside Silicon Valley’s Spy Wars," 13 Apr. 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.