1
as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
members of the conspiracy recognized each other by a secret handshake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in complicities
a secret agreement or cooperation between two parties for an illegal or dishonest purpose
a conspiracy among the leading manufacturers to fix prices
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in schemes
a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends
several generals were engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the government
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conspiracies
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
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
This is not manufactured, like the DeSantis administration’s obsession with bogus fluoride studies or vaccine conspiracies.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026
Online, every day, we are inundated with evidence of emergencies, crimes, and conspiracies that seem to elude comprehension.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2026
On the American right, voices once considered allies traffic in antisemitic conspiracies.
—Calev Myers, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
The more junk goes in—unverified claims, conspiracies, Astroturf campaigns, low‑quality commentary—the more polished junk comes out.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026
Mistakes drive conspiracies, a booming business in our society.
—Kevin Sherrington
mar. 9, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
But conspiracies do not spread themselves.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
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
This is not manufactured, like the DeSantis administration’s obsession with bogus fluoride studies or vaccine conspiracies.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026
Online, every day, we are inundated with evidence of emergencies, crimes, and conspiracies that seem to elude comprehension.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2026
On the American right, voices once considered allies traffic in antisemitic conspiracies.
—Calev Myers, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
The more junk goes in—unverified claims, conspiracies, Astroturf campaigns, low‑quality commentary—the more polished junk comes out.
—Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026
Mistakes drive conspiracies, a booming business in our society.
—Kevin Sherrington
mar. 9, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
But conspiracies do not spread themselves.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conspiracies
Noun
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The kickbacks — financial incentives by providers to get people signed up for services — are a fixture in some of the fraud schemes plaguing state programs.—
Caroline Cummings,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
In schemes orchestrated with Iza, Coberg arranged a fake drug arrest and stood guard while a victim was extorted.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
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For more than six decades, communist Cuba thwarted every destabilizing measure Washington aimed its way — assassination plots, a trade embargo, sabotage, travel bans and, most notoriously, the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, when Fidel Castro’s revolution was still young and the Cold War raging.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Gavin is a true leader, guiding a group of high school technicians through tasks such as hanging light plots, patching, and programming the light board.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 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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Plus the balcony is useful for intrigues and gossiping about the people below, as seen at Lady Danbury’s ball in season one of Bridgerton.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
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In The Corner That Held Them, rarely does desire raise its head as the nuns busy themselves with dishonest bishops, honest con men, collapsing spires, inconclusive visions, ecclesiastical intrigues, catty infighting, attempts at levitation, and the plague.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Carlsen noted that funds from both IT worker schemes and crypto heists frequently end up with Chinese brokers tied to organized-crime syndicates.—
Lisa Cavazuti,
NBC news,
15 Mar. 2026
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Recent Mexican history is riddled with the tales of once-powerful syndicates — gangs in Guadalajara, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, among them — that ruptured, were gobbled up by other mobs or petered out as the big guys were captured or killed.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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,
Literary Hub,
10 Dec. 2025
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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
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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
“Conspiracies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conspiracies. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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