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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cabals
Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
The twilight of empire was also a time of conspiracy theories about international Jewish cabals, said to manipulate power through money and shadowy networks in order to rule the world.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cabals
Noun
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The Sureño gangs requires new members to undergo an initiation — either a 13-second beating, or in some cases, an act of violence against a rival, police said in court records.—
Harry Harris,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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The shooter and victim were members of rival motorcycle gangs, according to court documents.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The list of debunks goes on and on and on; moon landing conspiracies, however, have remained persistently popular among some, even inspiring last year’s Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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My starting point when assessing allegations of huge conspiracies is that secrets become exponentially harder to keep for every extra person who knows about them.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Such crackdowns attract notice from Boswell, who detects a civilian ally in his fight against local syndicates.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX has disabled more than 2,500 Starlink devices in and around scam centers in Myanmar, following warnings from activists that mainly Chinese syndicates were using the technology to defraud people worldwide.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Longoria, who often collaborates with stylist Maeve Reilly, wore a black shirt with buttons running down the front placket and an open neckline with a sharp collar, revealing her delicate necklace featuring an outline of the state of Texas.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
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FinalSpark collaborates with ethicists to ensure the research remains within clear moral boundaries.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Disney wants higher carriage fees to reflect the value of its networks, such as ESPN.—
Liam Reilly,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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While emphasizing that the president has not made a final decision on launching strikes, the story said officials indicated that any potential air campaign would focus on sites that lie at the intersection of the Nicolás Maduro regime and the country’s drug-trafficking networks.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In classical antiquity, the mountainous region was notorious for bandits; in modern times, blood feuds among clans were rife.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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But Gaza is home to numerous clans and militant groups, with score-settling and criminality posing a threat to order in the Palestinian enclave, even after the ceasefire.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The fire suppression efforts involve seven engines, four water tenders and four hand crews.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Now that the Flower Magazine showcase has ended, Steve Fridrich said crews will work to reset its staging.—
Rachel Wegner,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Many observers have pointed out the resemblance of the firing campaign to online mobs circa 2020, and the entire episode has reignited debates over the difference between free speech and social censure.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
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Violent mobs confronted the students on the first day of school, and initially, the Arkansas National Guard blocked them from entering the building under orders from segregationist Governor Orval Faubus.—
Time,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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