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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The Placer County Sheriff's Office said some members of the network were allegedly affiliated with a Mexican drug trafficking organization as well as Sacramento-area drug and firearms trafficking gangs.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
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The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These are in addition to private members clubs The Wilde and Cipriani, among other highlights.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
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Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to the remote paradise sideways.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
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Carlson is known to trade in conspiracies and has been outspoken about his objections to the war in Iran.—
Fritz Farrow,
ABC News,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The sequel to Dhurandhar, which was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in North America at $20 million last year, stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Karachi’s criminal syndicates and Pakistani politics.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
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The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In this deeply intimate and haunting documentary, Alan Berliner posthumously collaborates with his friend and colleague, experimental New York City filmmaker Benita Raphan, who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
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The Guilford Police Department regularly collaborates with affiliated agencies in conducting these complex investigations.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This property is crucial for generating quantum entanglement between distant nodes, another cornerstone of future quantum communication networks, as per the release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
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That’s a problem since minor league sports are far less popular with fans and less attractive to television networks and other key partners.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For almost as long, these two clans have also been intimate friends (and relations) of the Pelosi family.—
James Reginato,
Vanity Fair,
5 Mar. 2026
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Salvation takes place in a mountainous region of Turkey where two Kurdish clans have grown up in constant distrust of each other.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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