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 He was accused of conspiring with drug cartels to move more than 400 tons of cocaine toward the United States. Andrew Torgan, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 There are a variety of parallels, ranging from complaints that British elites were conspiring with the American liberal establishment to drag Washington’s unnecessary war to claims that [British Prime Minister Winston] Churchill and co. were doomed to defeat against the Third Reich. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Ajak and Abraham Chol Keech, 44, of Utah, with conspiring to purchase and illegally export through a third country to South Sudan a cache of weapons in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Control Reform Act. Anita Snow, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 Last month, Sanon was charged with the others for the first time with conspiring to kill Haiti’s leader, after first being accused of trying to carry out a military expedition against a foreign country. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 The indictment said that Hart conspired with people in both Mexico and the U.S. to buy and sell the refrigerant from June 2022 through December 2022. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Last August, Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, charged Trump with conspiring with others to interfere with the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2024 Trump is accused of conspiring with an aide and the property manager of his Mar-a-Lago residence and club to hide classified and top-secret documents from federal investigators. Greg Allen, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 Batten helped and conspired with Brannon to firebomb the clinic with a Molotov cocktail from February through March 13, 2022, according to his plea agreement. City News Service, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024

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 19 Mar. 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
measles 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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