as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
a conspiracy theory about the existence of an international cabal devoted to world domination
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of cabals
Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
With a story of secret cabals and a child born to rule, Dumont projects the nasty prejudices and bureaucratic rigors of local politics, the tangles of family allegiances, and the tender grunge of young lust into divine and diabolical clashes run from celestial and subterranean castles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
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, 10 Dec. 2025
With a story of secret cabals and a child born to rule, Dumont projects the nasty prejudices and bureaucratic rigors of local politics, the tangles of family allegiances, and the tender grunge of young lust into divine and diabolical clashes run from celestial and subterranean castles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cabals
Verb
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The ash people’s perspective allies them with the group looking to strip-mine Pandora’s resources.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Gran Grif is one of several armed gangs designated last year by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Criminal gangs are also active.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These are in addition to private members clubs The Wilde and Cipriani, among other highlights.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Voter fraud conspiracies are like methamphetamine running through MAGA veins, stirring up equal parts passion and paranoia.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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The drumbeat of Christian war imagery has ignited dangerous conspiracies about Jews, such as Tucker Carlson’s contention that the Chabad-Lubavitch sect of Judaism secretly started the war.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Caleb Davies, another Kalshi trader who has earned $389,000 in culture markets over the past two years, says that the absence of financial organizations or syndicates of traders with big money allows knowledgeable traders to profit off of people who simply bet on their faves.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
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The four-hour epic by by Aditya Dahr is the sequel to Dhurandhar ($20 million in North American) and stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Pakistani politics and Karachi’s criminal syndicates.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The first release of an eight-album series in which American composer and pianist Michael Harrison collaborates with a global assortment of artists combining Eastern and Western musical traditions.—
Arts Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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In this deeply intimate and haunting documentary, Alan Berliner posthumously collaborates with his friend and colleague, experimental New York City filmmaker Benita Raphan, who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some team owners and networks care about the potential drop in production value.—
Mac Engel
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
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These platforms must forge collaborative networks that mutually reinforce one another and establish a rigorous framework that makes the cultural values of the biennial format legible, tangible, and palpable to various segments of society in the immediate locale and across the continent.—
Smooth Nzewi,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In mid-July, armed groups affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans, spurring intervention by government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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For almost as long, these two clans have also been intimate friends (and relations) of the Pelosi family.—
James Reginato,
Vanity Fair,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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