conspiratorial
Americanadjective
-
relating to or being a conspiracy, a secretive plan that is unlawful, harmful, or evil.
They believe these rulings to be the result of a conspiratorial plot cooked up by big business interests.
-
suggesting or giving the impression of such a plan.
The memory I have of that night is of wicked giggles and conspiratorial whispering about Tim with my best friend Gillian.
Other Word Forms
- conspiratorially adverb
- nonconspiratorial adjective
Etymology
Origin of conspiratorial
conspiratory + -al 1
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.
And this is always … again, I come back to the conspiratorial point because I do think that that is a form of conspiracy theory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
At the clinic, appointments with Marrero could be strangely conspiratorial, patients said.
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026
Then he smiled, this conspiratorial grown-up smile that made the backstage fluorescents feel warmer.
From Salon • Nov. 23, 2025
“What we’re seeing with this phenomenon is that people with either conspiratorial or grandiose delusional thinking get reinforced.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025
Believers developed conspiratorial theories to explain the mysterious relationship between mediums and spirits.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
