conspiracies

noun

plural of conspiracy
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conspiracies In an interview with Elle, Reinhart addressed fan conspiracies about Bateman’s casting. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026 As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip sideways. — Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026 Even the Lindsay Clancy trial — hearing all of those conspiracies is fascinating, and I get sucked down a rabbit hole really quickly. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026 The film ties these events into larger concerns surrounding freedom of the press and some inventive government conspiracies. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026 Of course, there are a plethora of the standard flat earth and moon landing conspiracies, too. — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 But like many aspects of 21st-century American life, the vaccines became a partisan point of debate as often false anti-vaccine conspiracies spread to millions of people. — Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 The result is a sprawling theory combining paranoid interpretations of current events with historical conspiracies. — Matthew N. Hannah, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026 Centrist Democrats are not socialists, not revolutionaries, and not disposed to blame Zionist conspiracies for every trouble in American life, including police brutality and urban gentrification. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conspiracies
  1. gangs
  2. intrigues
  3. schemes
  4. networks
  5. plots
  6. syndicates
  7. cabals
  8. clans
Noun
  • As Brazil has lost the ability to control its own security agenda, decisions about how to handle criminal gangs operating from its territory are increasingly made outside the country.
    — MATIAS SPEKTOR, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Around Wedela, Reuters reported that criminal gangs run the operations and use armed men to protect their territory.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of gangs
Noun
  • The series has always moved at a deliberate pace, allowing the characters’ social battles and romantic intrigues to simmer.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of intrigues
Noun
  • Curious schemes, plus bad tackling, contributed to a unit that was poor against the pass, and worse against the run.
    — Mac Engel October 4, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Other schemes are more direct—like a new version of the Nigerian prince scam that uses celebrity deepfakes.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of schemes
Noun
  • The constitutional question has been litigated many times, and by our count, every state or federal appellate court that’s ruled on the issue has concluded that ALPR networks are within bounds of the Fourth Amendment.
    — Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • As defense shifts from traditional armor toward connected missile-defense grids and real-time targeting, its components become increasingly central to the weapons and sensing systems that make those networks work.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of networks
Noun
  • There’s no winking at the audience, no sense of camp or parody, just a lot of appealing interactions, plus some wholly superfluous tertiary plots added to expand the story to series length.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues—one set at the dawn of the MAGA era.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of plots
Noun
  • Ramaphosa announced that soldiers would be deployed to support police in tackling gang violence, as the government steps up its fight against criminal syndicates.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Complex investigations to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates can require advanced equipment, Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokesperson for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a statement.
    — Aneri Pattani — KFF Health News, STAT, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of syndicates
Noun
  • Increasingly, his mind was preoccupied with extremist views and conspiracy theories, including secret government cabals and false-flag operations.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of cabals
Noun
  • Ali Mahmoud Ali, the group's Sudan analyst, said that the latest clashes risk bringing in more Nuba clans into the fight and could increase divisions across South Kordofan, where communities are facing an already dire humanitarian situation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • All Palestinian clans and families in Gaza would also be a target for disarmament, which would have an impact on the future of Hamas and Palestinian armed struggle.
    — Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of clans

Browse Nearby Words

conspicuously
conspiracies
conspiracy
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Cite this Entry

“Conspiracies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conspiracies. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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