conspiracy

conspiracy — noun

1. a secret arrangement among several individuals or organisations to commit an ill

1.nounB2
Definition

a secret arrangement among several individuals or organisations to commit an illegal or harmful act; the process of agreeing on such a plan in private

Example

Ravindra was charged with conspiracy to defraud the elderly couple of their life savings.

conspiracy + to-infinitive for illegal purpose

The documentary exposed a conspiracy among the oil executives to keep fuel prices artificially high.

conspiracy among [people]

Common collocations
  • form a conspiracy
  • uncover a conspiracy
  • expose a conspiracy
  • political conspiracy
  • criminal conspiracy
Synonyms
  • plot

    a plan made secretly, usually with a set goal; often used in stories about crime or politics

  • scheme

    a dishonest plan, often involving deception; broader than conspiracy, not necessarily requiring multiple people

  • collusion

    a formal word for secret cooperation, especially in business or political wrongdoing

Antonyms
  • openness

    the quality of acting without secrecy

Grammar Patterns

conspiracy + to-infinitive

conspiracy + between/among + [people/groups]

Usage Note

Frequently used with a following to-infinitive (a conspiracy to [do something]) or the preposition 'between' or 'among' to state who is involved. Common in legal contexts.

Common Mistakes

That was a conspiracy of the two friends.
That was a conspiracy between the two friends.
use 'between' or 'among', not 'of', when listing the people involved.
They conspired a conspiracy to steal the data.
They formed a conspiracy to steal the data.
the verb 'conspire' already contains the idea, so 'conspired a conspiracy' is redundant.

2. an unspoken agreement among a group of people not to talk about something, espec

2.nounC1
Definition

an unspoken agreement among a group of people not to talk about something, especially something embarrassing, harmful, or illegal, in order to protect themselves or others from the consequences

Example

The neighbours maintained a conspiracy of silence about the abuse in the apartment next door.

conspiracy of silence + about [topic]

A conspiracy of silence protected the bank's executives from public anger until the scandal broke.

Common collocations
  • a conspiracy of silence
  • maintain a conspiracy of silence
  • break the conspiracy of silence
  • conspiracy of silence about/around/over
Synonyms
  • pact of silence

    a more literal, less common alternative that carries the same idea

  • cover-up

    emphasises the active hiding of wrongdoing rather than the agreement to stay silent

Antonyms
  • whistleblowing

    the act of speaking out about wrongdoing, the opposite of staying silent

Grammar Patterns

a conspiracy of silence

a conspiracy of silence + about/around/over + [topic]

Usage Note

Almost always used in the fixed phrase 'a conspiracy of silence' followed by 'about', 'around', or 'over' to name the hidden topic. This sense does not take a to-infinitive, which helps distinguish it from sense 1.

Common Mistakes

There was a conspiracy of silence to hide the truth.
There was a conspiracy of silence about the truth.
this sense does not use a to-infinitive; use 'about' or 'around' instead.
Idioms

conspiracy theory

idiom

a belief that a secret group is responsible for a particular event or situation, often without good evidence and as an alternative to the official explanation

Owen's uncle spends hours online reading conspiracy theories about the moon landing being faked.

The politician dismissed the rumour as a ridiculous conspiracy theory spread by her opponents.

Word family

  • conspire
    verbB2
  • conspirator
    nounC1
  • conspiratorial
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to dishonest or secret plans, but they differ in scope and register. A 'conspiracy' always involves at least two people planning something harmful or illegal together, often with a political or criminal target. A 'plot' is a detailed plan to achieve a specific goal and is common in stories about espionage or murder. A 'scheme' is broader — it can be a plan for a single person and may involve deception without being illegal. 'Collusion' is the most formal and is used mainly in business and legal settings, describing secret cooperation that undermines fair competition. For example: 'The three executives formed a conspiracy to fix prices' (criminal). 'The spy novel involved a plot to assassinate the ambassador' (specific goal). 'Her scheme to win the election involved spreading false rumours' (deception, not necessarily illegal). 'The two companies were accused of collusion to keep competitors out of the market' (formal, anti-competitive).

conspiracy ↗plot ↗scheme ↗collusion

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • form a conspiracy
  • part of a conspiracy
  • conspiracy to defraud

Prepositions

  • conspiracy between
  • conspiracy among
  • conspiracy of

Etymology

LatinAnglo-FrenchEnglish

The word entered English in the 1300s from Anglo-French 'conspiracie', which came from Latin 'conspirare' — 'con-' meaning 'together' and 'spirare' meaning 'to breathe'. So its original image was people 'breathing together', sharing the same spirit or intention. Over time this shifted from a neutral idea of shared purpose to the negative meaning of plotting wrongdoing in secret.