cabal
noun
a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority.
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Habal.
cabal
American
[kuh-bal, kuh-bawl]
/ kəˈbæl, kəˈbɔl /
noun
-
cabals
plural
verb (used without object)
-
cabals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
caballed,
past participle, past participle, past (especially British)
-
cabaled,
past
-
caballing
present participle, present participle (especially British)
cabal
1
British
/ kəˈbæl /
noun
-
a small group of intriguers, esp one formed for political purposes
-
a secret plot, esp a political one; conspiracy; intrigue
-
a secret or exclusive set of people; clique
verb
Cabal
2
British
/ kəˈbæl /
noun
Synonym Usage
See conspiracy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cabalsimple
-
cabalssimple
-
have caballedperfect
-
has caballedperfect
-
am caballingprogressive
-
are caballingprogressive
-
is caballingprogressive
-
have been caballingperfect progressive
-
has been caballingperfect progressive
Past
-
cabaledsimple
-
caballedsimple
-
had caballedperfect
-
was caballingprogressive
-
were caballingprogressive
-
had been caballingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cabal
First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; earlier cabbal, from Medieval Latin cabbala; see kabbalah
Explanation
A cabal is a secret plot, or a small group of people who create such a plot. Some conspiracy theories are based on the idea that governments worldwide are in the hands of a powerful cabal. Cabal comes from the word cabbala (also spelled kabbala), which refers to a Jewish tradition of interpreting texts. Cabbala is often regarded as a secret and mystical practice and, as such, the word took on the additional meaning of “secret behavior.” Cabal comes from this sense of the word. A well-known cabal in 17th-century England was coincidentally made up of five members whose names’ initial letters spelled the word cabal. (Their names were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale.)
Vocabulary lists containing cabal
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Hidden Figures
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The Federalist Papers, No. 10 by James Madison
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The hypocrisy of not paying athletes exasperated jurists all the way to the Supreme Court, and the old cabal crumbled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Conspiracy theories surfaced online that the whale had been deliberately driven into the Baltic Sea and all had been staged by a cabal of scientists, authorities and environmental organisations.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
This is evidently what the investment cabal has done.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026
Not just any action movie either — the sinister leader of the cabal Gi-hun sets himself against likens his vengeance quest to the central choice in “The Matrix.”
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2024
They would turn their backs on her, her mother, the policemen, her brother, and go off with Robbie Turner to indulge some adult cabal.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
However, Lang made it 2-2 just after half-time and Davinson Sanchez put Galatasaray back in the lead before Juventus had Juan Cabal sent off.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Edmond Mulet is a former Guatemalan diplomat and president of Congress, who competed in the first round of the election as the presidential candidate for the Cabal party.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 20, 2023
The reform risks hurting job creation, Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of merchants association Fenalco, told journalists earlier on Thursday.
From Reuters ● Mar. 17, 2023
On a steamy evening at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, Jaime Cabal had a line of customers at his Mister Softee ice cream truck.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2022
It was from Emlen House that Washington gave the first intimation that he knew of the infamous attempts to discredit and displace him which later became known as the "Conway Cabal."
From Historic Shrines of America Being the Story of One Hundred and Twenty Historic Buildings and the Pioneers Who Made Them Notable by John T. (John Thomson) Faris
That Epstein’s crimes were confined to himself and a few enablers, chiefly Ghislaine Maxwell, was intolerable to influencers and politicos determined to attribute all bad things to the dark workings of cabals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
So rather than accepting that the world is a complicated place nobody can control, they're susceptible to the idea that there are secret cabals out to get them.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2023
The sequel’s plot hinges on a series of twists that successively reveal you to be a pawn in a power struggle among three competing cabals.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2020
“As soon as they heard that, a lot of cabals here in Hollywood, that’s all they needed to hear. It’s like, ‘OK, she must be destroyed.’
From Washington Times ● Oct. 3, 2019
Men muttered in small cabals or threatened one another by the fireside, cutting each other with their eyes and hissing, vaunting superiority in their familiarity with the Unseen.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
They caballed, traduced the Baron, and he fell into disgrace.
From After London Or, Wild England by Richard Jefferies
The bishops and champions of different parties caballed to draw over the emperor to their side, and thus aid them in crushing their adversaries.
From Ecce Homo! A Critical Inquiry into the History of Jesus of Nazareth: Being a Rational Analysis of the Gospels by Paul Henry Thiry Baron d' Holbach
He was the Keeper of George III.'s conscience, until he caballed against Mr. Pitt, and was unceremoniously turned out by him.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 45, July, 1861 by Various
Political leaders grumbled, and military officers caballed, but the popular feeling went out to Washington with a sure and utter confidence.
From George Washington, Volume I by Henry Cabot Lodge
He caballed with the very men to whom he had hitherto been most vehemently opposed for the sole object of expelling Lord Shelburne from office.
From The Constitutional History of England from 1760 to 1860 by Charles Duke Yonge
Henry Kissinger happened to be visiting London at the time and witnessed the caballing against her.
From Newsweek ● Apr. 8, 2013
That their perpetual caballing with her factious subjects, against her authority, had forced her into such measures, as otherwise she would not have engaged in.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 10 Historical Writings by Jonathan Swift
What those caballing captains may design, I must prevent, by being first in action.—
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 07 by Sir Walter Scott
It is this:—"You know their promptitude in writing, and their diligence in caballing; to write, speak, or act against them will only stimulate them to new efforts."
From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 04 (of 12) by Edmund Burke
The Dominie’s kindness and attention were unremitting, and no one ever thought of caballing against me.
From Jacob Faithful by Frederick Marryat
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