conspire
verb
con·spire
kən-ˈspī(-ə)r 
conspired; conspiring
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
B. J. OliphantExamples 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
Howard’s agent, Charles Briscoe, had conspired with Darden, which gave Howard more of a reason to believe the transactions were legitimate.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The bigger concern, though, is how all of these augmentations and enhancements seem to conspire to hide the shortcomings of BMW’s design decisions but aren’t successful in doing so.
—Bradley Iger, ArsTechnica, 31 Mar. 2025
Many factors conspired to make this earthquake a disaster, including a lack of quake-proofing measures in buildings across the region.
—Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2025
But nature, her wealthy family and a sister who is a celebrity social media influencer seem conspired against her plans.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conspire
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Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The bigger concern, though, is how all of these augmentations and enhancements seem to conspire to hide the shortcomings of BMW’s design decisions but aren’t successful in doing so.
—Bradley Iger, ArsTechnica, 31 Mar. 2025
Many factors conspired to make this earthquake a disaster, including a lack of quake-proofing measures in buildings across the region.
—Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2025
But nature, her wealthy family and a sister who is a celebrity social media influencer seem conspired against her plans.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conspire
Cite this Entry
“Conspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspire. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
conspire
verb
con·spire
kən-ˈspī(ə)r
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
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