1
as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
members of the conspiracy recognized each other by a secret handshake
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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
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3
as in schemes
a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends
several generals were engaged in a conspiracy to overthrow the government
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conspiracies
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
Peters long promoted conspiracies about the 2020 race, which former President Joe Biden won.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 1 June 2026
They were united by paranoia, and their quest to protect the American dream by exposing conspiracies and secrets that the powers-that-be would rather stayed hidden.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Anti-Semitism is built on conspiracies and contradictions that take time for an observer to unravel.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
The former clerk had become the face of election conspiracies and attempts to undermine voting systems, Cutter said.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
Much of it is familiar, echoing the conspiracies of the COVID pandemic, such as false claims about the drug ivermectin being known to effectively treat the infection and vaccines causing the outbreak.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 15 May 2026
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
Sheriff Griffin in North Carolina says many of these disaster tourists spread conspiracies and misinformation to help their videos go viral.
—Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 3 May 2026
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 6 June 2026
Peters long promoted conspiracies about the 2020 race, which former President Joe Biden won.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 1 June 2026
They were united by paranoia, and their quest to protect the American dream by exposing conspiracies and secrets that the powers-that-be would rather stayed hidden.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Anti-Semitism is built on conspiracies and contradictions that take time for an observer to unravel.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
The former clerk had become the face of election conspiracies and attempts to undermine voting systems, Cutter said.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 20 May 2026
Much of it is familiar, echoing the conspiracies of the COVID pandemic, such as false claims about the drug ivermectin being known to effectively treat the infection and vaccines causing the outbreak.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 15 May 2026
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
Sheriff Griffin in North Carolina says many of these disaster tourists spread conspiracies and misinformation to help their videos go viral.
—Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conspiracies
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
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Netflix announced a second melodrama last December, about the secrets and intrigues of an elite Rio de Janeiro family, created in partnership with Amaia Produções and Conspiração, with general direction by Mauro Mendonça Filho.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
25 May 2026
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The rich textures and thick ambiance of The Eyes of Others are pure high modernist 1960s Italian cinema, but De Sica unfurls the film’s winding intrigues with a contemporary sense of suspense, carnality, and visual boldness.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Critics, however, have questioned the administration’s motives behind the new division given that fraud was already prosecuted by the agency’s Criminal Division, which last year announced the largest coordinated takedown of healthcare fraud schemes in Justice Department history.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
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With no one coming to save him, Santi learned to save himself — cheating cards, running schemes, talking his way into and out of everything.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
8 June 2026
Noun
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Across movie studios, television networks and content production firms, AI creators CNBC spoke to mentioned using a wide variety of generative AI tools, with Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Kling, MiniMax, Seedance and Google’s AI Studio being frequently mentioned.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
11 June 2026
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The panel’s antitrust subcommittee considered whether the professional football league overstretched its antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 by pooling the television rights for all 32 teams into a package that is then sold to various cable networks and streaming services.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
10 June 2026
Noun
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Casting child star vocal talents to bring his line drawings to life for the characters surrounding Charlie Brown (and his endless dilemmas of life story plots) wasn’t an easy feat for Schulz, since, after all, children grow up, and their vocals mature.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
3 June 2026
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Jane’s characters brim with oddball wisdom, and her genre-bending plots are always a delight.—
Tessa Yang,
PEOPLE,
2 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
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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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
“Conspiracies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conspiracies. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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