conspiracy

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French conspiracie, from Latin conspiratio. Doublet of conspiration.

• IPA^(key): /kənˈspɪɹəsi/

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conspiracy (countable and uncountable, plural conspiracies)

1. The act of two or more persons, called conspirators, working secretly to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations.
2. (law) An agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future.
3. A group of ravens.
4. (linguistics) A situation in which different phonological or grammatical rules lead to similar or related outcomes.
5. A conspiracy theory; a hypothesis alleging conspiracy.
   • 2008, Edward Snajdr, Nature Protests: The End of Ecology in Slovakia, University of Washington Press, →ISBN, page 176:

     Rather than propagating conspiracies about the evils of wealthy Jewry, they beat up poor Roma in back alleys.

   • 2018, Rita Santos, The Deep State, Greenhaven Publishing, →ISBN, page 99:

     The internet helps spread conspiracies, but it can also be used to verify claims made by politicians and the media.

• conspire
• conspirator
• conspiration