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View synonyms for cabal

cabal

[ kuh-bawl, kuh-bal ]

noun

  1. a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority.

    Synonyms: ring, league, band, faction, junta

  2. the plots and schemes of such a group; intrigue.
  3. a clique, as in artistic, literary, or theatrical circles.


verb (used without object)

, ca·balled, ca·bal·ling.
  1. to form a cabal; intrigue; conspire; plot.

Cabal

1

/ kəˈbæl /

noun

  1. the Cabal
    English history a group of ministers of Charles II that governed from 1667–73: consisting of Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


cabal

2

/ kəˈbæl /

noun

  1. a small group of intriguers, esp one formed for political purposes
  2. a secret plot, esp a political one; conspiracy; intrigue
  3. a secret or exclusive set of people; clique
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to form a cabal; conspire; plot
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • ca·bal·ler noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cabal1

First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; earlier cabbal, from Medieval Latin cabbala; kabbalah
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cabal1

see kabbalah ; by a coincidence, the initials of Charles II's ministers can be arranged to form this word

Origin of cabal2

C17: from French cabale, from Medieval Latin cabala; see cabbala
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Some go deep, believing that a cabal of Democrats and celebrities torture children to drink their blood.

They form the most privileged cabal in all of American media, as they preside over the country’s most toxic news organization without having to answer for its abuses.

They were going to replace the secretary, deputy secretary, myself and number of other people, and it was a cabal of crazies.

Another example, this one trending in left-wing circles, is a fake report about a mysterious cabal that’s blocking mailboxes to discourage voting.

From Fortune

It has recently become a major gathering place for QAnon conspiracy theorists, who believe an elite cabal of satanic child molesters are running the country.

From Ozy

A cabal can do it, selling their influence to the highest bidder.

It has now leant its name to a shadowy cabal known within the German meat-processing industry as the Atlantic group.

The arms dealer sells it to a mysterious neo-Nazi cabal, which then detonates it in Baltimore.

LIBOR is the very definition of a rate set by a cabal, ripe for collusion.

Silicon Valley has its own weaknesses: the cabal of successful investors is small and insular.

Meanwhile the cabal against the ruined Ripperda raged with redoubled fury in the Spanish cabinet.

But here the artist stranded, the victim of a cabal, despite the protection of Camille Maupin.

Mr. Palfrey terms this attempt a "Presbyterian cabal," and calls its leaders "conspirators."

But as true Merit,236 is always the most envied, a Cabal was soon formed against his Integrity.

She had no political ability, no inclination for political affairs, but she was at once the tool and guiding genius of the Cabal.

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