conspire

verb

con·​spire kən-ˈspī(-ə)r How to pronounce conspire (audio)
conspired; conspiring

intransitive verb

1
a
: to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement
accused of conspiring to overthrow the government
conspired to monopolize and restrict trade
b
: scheme
2
: to act in harmony toward a common end
Circumstances conspired to defeat his efforts.
… the sun and the wind conspired to make splinters out of solid wood.B. J. Oliphant

Examples of conspire in a Sentence

conspired to replace the leader with someone more easily influenced foul weather and airline foul-ups seemed to be conspiring to ruin our vacation
Recent Examples on the Web The plaintiffs’ basic legal theory is that the NCAA, six conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) and broadcast partner Turner Sports Interactive have illegally conspired in violation of antitrust law to use their NIL without paying royalties. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2024 The document states that Council conspired with others to take unauthorized control of the @SECGov X account through a SIM-swapping attack. Javier Bastardo, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024 The suspect, Eric Council, allegedly conspired with others to gain access to the SEC’s account with the goal of causing Bitcoin’s value to jump. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 18 Oct. 2024 The Justice Department accused the men of soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, using the Telegram platform. Melissa Cruz, USA TODAY, 12 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for conspire 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conspire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French conspirer, from Latin conspirare to be in harmony, conspire, from com- + spirare to breathe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of conspire was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near conspire

Cite this Entry

“Conspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspire. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

conspire

verb
con·​spire kən-ˈspī(ə)r How to pronounce conspire (audio)
conspired; conspiring
1
: to agree secretly to do an unlawful act : plot
conspiring to overthrow the dictator
2
: to act together
delays and the weather conspired to spoil our vacation

Legal Definition

conspire

intransitive verb
con·​spire kən-ˈspīr How to pronounce conspire (audio)
conspired; conspiring
: to join in a conspiracy compare solicit
Etymology

Latin conspirare to be in harmony, to join in an unlawful agreement, from com- together + spirare to breathe

More from Merriam-Webster on conspire

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