6 results for: conspiracy

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

con·spir·a·cy

Audio Help [kuh

–noun, plural -cies.

1.	the act of conspiring.

2.	an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot.

3.	a combination of persons for a secret, unlawful, or evil purpose: He joined the conspiracy to overthrow the government.

4.	Law. an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act.

5.	any concurrence in action; combination in bringing about a given result.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME conspiracie, prob. < AF; see conspire, -acy; r. ME conspiracioun; see conspiration

]

—Related forms

con·spir·a·tive, adjective

con·spir·a·to·ri·al

Audio Help [kuh

n-spir-uh-tawr-ee-uh

l, -tohr-] Pronunciation Key, con·spir·a·to·ry, adjective

con·spir·a·to·ri·al·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. collusion, sedition. 2. Conspiracy, plot, intrigue, cabal all refer to surreptitious or covert schemes to accomplish some end, most often an evil one. A conspiracy usually involves a group entering into a secret agreement to achieve some illicit or harmful objective: a vicious conspiracy to control prices. A plot is a carefully planned secret scheme, usually by a small number of persons, to secure sinister ends: a plot to seize control of a company. An intrigue usually involves duplicity and deceit aimed at achieving either personal advantage or criminal or treasonous objectives: the petty intrigues of civil servants. Cabal refers either to a plan by a small group of highly-placed persons to overthrow or control a government, or to the group of persons themselves: a cabal of powerful lawmakers.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
conspiracy

To learn more about conspiracy visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

con·spir·a·cy Audio Help (kən-spîr'ə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. con·spir·a·cies

An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.
A group of conspirators.
Law An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action.
A joining or acting together, as if by sinister design: a conspiracy of wind and tide that devastated coastal areas.

[Middle English conspiracie, from Anglo-Norman, probably alteration of Old French conspiration, from Latin cōnspīrātiō, cōnspīrātiōn-, from cōnspīrātus, past participle of cōnspīrāre, to conspire; see conspire.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

conspiracy
noun
1.	a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
2.	a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
3.	a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
conˈspiracy [-ˈspi-] noun — plural conˈspiracies

(a plan made by) conspiring
Example: The government discovered the conspiracy in time.

Arabic:	مُؤامَرَه، تَآمُر
Chinese (Simplified):	阴谋
Chinese (Traditional):	陰謀
Czech:	spiknutí
Danish:	sammensværgelse
Dutch:	samenzwering
Estonian:	salasepitsus
Finnish:	salaliitto
French:	conspiration
German:	die Verschwörung
Greek:	συνωμοσία
Hungarian:	összeesküvés
Icelandic:	samsæri
Indonesian:	komplotan
Italian:	cospirazione

Japanese:	陰謀
Latvian:	sazvērestība
Lithuanian:	sąmokslas
Norwegian:	sammensvergelse
Polish:	spisek
Portuguese (Brazil):	conspiração
Portuguese (Portugal):	conspiração
Romanian:	conspiraţie
Russian:	заговор
Slovak:	sprisahanie
Slovenian:	zarota
Spanish:	conspiración
Swedish:	konspiration, sammansvärjning
Turkish:	komplo

See also: conspirator, conspire

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: con·spir·a·cy
Pronunciation: k&n-'spir-&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cies
Etymology: Latin conspiratio, from conspirare to conspire —see CONSPIRE
1 : an agreement between two or more people to commit an act prohibited by law or to commit a lawful act by means prohibited by law; also : the crime or tort of participating in a conspiracy —compare SUBSTANTIVE CRIME
NOTE: Some states require an overt act in addition to the agreement to constitute conspiracy.

chain conspiracy
: a conspiracy in which the conspirators act separately and successively (as in distributing narcotics)

civil conspiracy
: a conspiracy that is not prosecuted as a crime but that forms the grounds for a lawsuit

criminal conspiracy
: a conspiracy prosecuted as a crime
2 : a group of conspirators

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web