as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
a conspiracy theory about the existence of an international cabal devoted to world domination
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cabals
Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
With a story of secret cabals and a child born to rule, Dumont projects the nasty prejudices and bureaucratic rigors of local politics, the tangles of family allegiances, and the tender grunge of young lust into divine and diabolical clashes run from celestial and subterranean castles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel, Shadow Ticket, set in 1932 Milwaukee, takes place in a landscape of industrial ghosts, strike-breakers, fascist sympathizers and absurdist cabals.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
With a story of secret cabals and a child born to rule, Dumont projects the nasty prejudices and bureaucratic rigors of local politics, the tangles of family allegiances, and the tender grunge of young lust into divine and diabolical clashes run from celestial and subterranean castles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cabals
Verb
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The ash people’s perspective allies them with the group looking to strip-mine Pandora’s resources.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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He was known as a pugnacious investigator who had dismantled some of the country’s most violent gangs.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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It was originally used by gangs to try to avoid police detection, but has since become rooted in their national identity, AFP has reported.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Verb
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That advantage was in large part offset by payments from UEFA’s ‘value pillar’, a mechanism which awards clubs money based upon their coefficient ranking (determined by past performance in European competition) and the size of their nation’s broadcast rights deal for the competition.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
30 May 2026
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Their top-30 visits, where NFL clubs host prospects at their facilities to gather further intel, are often smokescreens.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Aliens on the loose, serial killer investigations, family conspiracies, abusive cults, and robots gone rogue are just a few scenarios guaranteed to grab your attention and spike your blood pressure…and they all can be found on the list below.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
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Peters long promoted conspiracies about the 2020 race, which former President Joe Biden won.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Applying terrorism designations to criminal syndicates, Brazilian officials say, conflicts with domestic legal definitions and risks blurring distinctions underpinning international counterterrorism law.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2026
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Instead, horses are often owned by sponsors, investors or syndicates.—
Danielle Rossingh,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
Verb
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The next time your computer powers up instantly, your paycheck arrives electronically, your team collaborates across time zones or your work helps another person solve a problem, pause for a moment.—
ByBryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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Sridharan, for example, usually collaborates with AI to work through issues, but her experience using it in technical tests usually entails using it as a replacement for hands-on coding.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Noun
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These networks are viewed with less enthusiasm in the age of streaming, because more consumers are abandoning their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 June 2026
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Most existing and proposed projects are clustered around major metropolitan areas where fiber-optic networks, power infrastructure and workforce needs can be met.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Publishers Coolabi Group and Chinese online giant Tencent Video have greenlit the series, adapted from Erin Hunter’s novels about battling clans of feral cats, which have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
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Our story begins in the winter of that year, as Murashige — along with his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and the small handful of clans loyal to their family — barricade themselves behind the peripets of Arioka Castle and wait for death to arrive at their doorstep.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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