collusion

[kuh-loo-zhuhn]

noun

1. a secret agreement, especially for fraudulent or treacherous purposes; conspiracy.

   Some of his employees were acting in collusion to rob him.

   Synonyms: complicity, connivance, intrigue

2. Law.,  a secret understanding between two or more persons to gain something illegally, to defraud someone's rights, or to appear as adversaries though in agreement.

   collusion of husband and wife to obtain a divorce.

collusion

/ kəˈluːʒən /

noun

1. secret agreement for a fraudulent purpose; connivance; conspiracy

2. a secret agreement between opponents at law in order to obtain a judicial decision for some wrongful or improper purpose

Other Word Forms

• noncollusion noun
• precollusion noun
• collusive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of collusion¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (from Middle French ) from Latin collūsiōn- (stem of collūsiō ), equivalent to collūs(us) (past participle of collūdere to collude ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of collusion¹

C14: from Latin collūsiō, from collūdere to _collude

Example Sentences

Aggie and Nile’s cat-and-mouse contest is compelling, but one part of a larger story about corruption and class-based collusion in a city that is home to more billionaires than anywhere else on the planet.

Read more on Salon

Local police, who did not want to come on record, say it is a combination of several factors - including staff shortages, increasingly sophisticated smuggling methods and possible collusion between liquor makers and authorities.

Read more on BBC

Another GOP priority is an attempt to prove that Democrats behaved badly in 2016 by pushing the Russia collusion narrative.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Most of the scam centres, which tend to involve romance and commercial fraud, are controlled by Chinese criminal groups in collusion with Myanmar militias.

Read more on Barron's

By requiring disclosure of producers’ confidential pricing and customer data, it would effectively allow buyer-side price collusion under government protection.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• complicity 
• conspiracy 
• deceit 
• scam