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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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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Suffice to say, the comedians are soon way over their head and find themselves in the middle of a war between rival gangs.—
Alex Knapp,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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An outbreak of violence by warring gangs has led to the deaths of at least 80 people, according to human rights advocates, and forced the temporary suspension of operations at both Médecins Sans Frontières’ health facility in Cité Soleil, and Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
16 May 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Noun
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Wallace is particularly troubled by how quickly hantavirus was incorporated into the COVID-era health conspiracies and the distrust in public health authorities that still thrive in certain online ecosystems.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
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In Russia, indulging in such conspiracies is often less an exercise in political prediction than an expression of deeper anxieties that can be otherwise hard to express.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Criminal syndicates The consequences extend far beyond South America.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
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For one, the Madlanga Commission — set up to investigate whether criminal syndicates and political actors have burrowed into the police, intelligence, and prosecutorial services — is due to submit its interim report at the end of May.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ejae often collaborates with styling duo Theo Song and Jeffrey Jin.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
11 May 2026
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O’Neal also collaborates with others across fashion, sports and entertainment, including Meta, DraftKings, Reebok, True Religion and ESPN.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Gutfeld, however, has the major advantage of airing in the earlier primetime window, where more viewers are simply awake and tuning in across all networks.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
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Built from complex networks of sometimes more than 100 different types of neurons, retinal tissue consumes two to three times more energy than the same mass of typical brain tissue.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
13 May 2026
Noun
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Families are assembling adjacent estates over time, creating compounds designed to remain within clans for generations.—
Natalie Hoberman,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
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However, the ruthless King Saran (Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor) has suppressed magic users and enacts a rule of terror, which Zelie hopes to end in order to reunite Orisha’s clans.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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