collusion
Americannoun
-
collusions
plural
-
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
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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.
noun
-
secret agreement for a fraudulent purpose; connivance; conspiracy
-
a secret agreement between opponents at law in order to obtain a judicial decision for some wrongful or improper purpose
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of collusion
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
Explanation
If you are making secret agreements with someone, then you are in collusion with them. Every time gas prices jump, consumers suspect the gas station owners of collusion and price fixing. The noun collusion almost always implies that plans are being made because of some nefarious, most likely illegal, purpose. An art thief could be in collusion with a museum director to steal a famous painting from an art museum. Things get sticky when there is collusion between government and business, between union and management, or between your siblings.
Vocabulary lists containing collusion
The Pearl
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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This Week in Words: October 28 - November 3, 2017
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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:
His brother Fintan told BBC News NI there was "talk that he was digging into collusion, digging into the finances of the LVF but there was never any proof".
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The firm also alleges the actions of Icahn and two of his allies, Troluce Capital Advisors and Pentwater Capital, who all hold significant stakes, amounts to illegal collusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Another survivor, who endured a 30-day ordeal in late 2024, said he suspected collusion "at a much higher level".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It’s also one of a pair of lawsuits filed by the attorneys accusing collusion by the carriers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The federation eliminated the Candidates tournament, an event that had multiple players competing against one another, which Fischer charged led to the opportunity for collusion among the Soviets.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
He and Esper seem to have boosted each other’s morale through daily pep talks and whatever collusions they could manage.
From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2022
Furthermore, since the computer can react much more quickly, even sudden collusions will mostly be avoided entirely.
From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2017
“I have had no contacts or collusions with the Russians,” he said.
From The Guardian ● May 19, 2017
Dr David Grimes, from Oxford University, devised an equation to express this, and then applied it to four famous collusions.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2016
Even among the Romans we see the commercial society appear with all its paraphernalia of monopolies, corners, collusions, combinations, piracy, and venality.
From System of Economical Contradictions; or, the Philosophy of Misery by P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph) Proudhon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
