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• cabal
  cabal

  noun

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

  noun

  English history a group of ministers of Charles II that governed from 1667–73: consisting of Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale

cabal

American  

[kuh-bal, kuh-bawl] / kəˈbæl, kəˈbɔl /

noun

• cabals
  plural

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.

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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)

1. to form a cabal; intrigue; conspire; plot.

cabal ¹ British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to form a cabal; conspire; plot

Cabal ² British  

/ kəˈbæl /

noun

1. English history a group of ministers of Charles II that governed from 1667–73: consisting of Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale

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Synonym Usage

See conspiracy.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• caballer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cabals
  plural

Participles

• caballing
  present
• caballed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cabal
  simple
• cabals
  simple
• have caballed
  perfect
• has caballed
  perfect
• am caballing
  progressive
• are caballing
  progressive
• is caballing
  progressive
• have been caballing
  perfect progressive
• has been caballing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cabaled
  simple
• caballed
  simple
• had caballed
  perfect
• was caballing
  progressive
• were caballing
  progressive
• had been caballing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cabal
  simple
• will have caballed
  perfect
• will be caballing
  progressive
• will have been caballing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of cabal

First recorded in 1610–20, for an earlier sense; earlier cabbal, from Medieval Latin cabbala; see kabbalah

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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.)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cabal Cabal cabals caballed caballing

Social media, however, and its cabal of influencers operate along many of the same lines as their reality TV forebears.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 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

Angry traders slammed Polymarket on social media, complaining that a cabal of big traders had skewed the resolution process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

This is evidently what the investment cabal has done.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 16, 2026

Once we passed a cabal of figures in black cloaks and tricornes carrying torches and whispering together.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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, who competed in the first round of presidential voting for the conservative Cabal party, said he counts Arévalo as a friend.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 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 Saturday, Evans partners Skupski against former world number one doubles pair Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, before returning to action against Barrientos following Norrie's tie with Mejia.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2023

Goethe's Goetz and Werther, Schiller's Brigands and Cabal and Love, were greeted as the promising forerunners of the national literature to come.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 13 by John Rudd

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

“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

As Secret Service chief, he employed small-time crooks to topple counterfeiting rings, reasoning that only underworld types could permeate these cabals.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 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

He laughed at the crises: he disdained this war of words, caballed against ministers, and treated passing events with levity.

From History of the Girondists, Volume I Personal Memoirs of the Patriots of the French Revolution by H. T. Ryde

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 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

A club of wits caballed and produced a collection of short poems sarcastically entitled “Certain Verses written by several of the Author’s Friends, to be reprinted in the Second Edition of ‘Gondibert,’” 1653.

From Calamities and Quarrels of Authors by Isaac Disraeli

The three last-named persons often held little conspiracies together, and caballed or grumbled against the head of the house.

From The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray

Henry Kissinger happened to be visiting London at the time and witnessed the caballing against her.

From Newsweek ● Apr. 8, 2013

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

For my own share, I have preserved peace in my house till your arrival: and I warn you, that if you have the passion of intriguing and caballing, you have applied to the wrong hand.

From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 16 by Thomas Carlyle

The Dominie’s kindness and attention were unremitting, and no one ever thought of caballing against me.

From Jacob Faithful by Frederick Marryat

Eugene fancied it was White who was caballing against him, but he thought if Colfax was going to change, he was going to change, and there was no help for it.

From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser

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