conspire

[kuhn-spahyuhr]

verb (used without object)

conspired, conspiring 

1. to agree together, especially secretly, to do something wrong, evil, or illegal.

   They conspired to kill the king.

   Synonyms: intrigue, complot

2. to act or work together toward the same result or goal.

   The wind and rain conspired to strip the trees of their fall color.

   Synonyms: cooperate, concur, combine

verb (used with object)

conspired, conspiring 

1. to plot (something wrong, evil, or illegal).

conspire

/ kənˈspaɪə /

verb

1. to plan or agree on (a crime or harmful act) together in secret

2. (intr) to act together towards some end as if by design

   the elements conspired to spoil our picnic

Other Word Forms

• conspirer noun
• conspiringly adverb
• nonconspiring adjective
• preconspire verb
• unconspired adjective
• unconspiring adjective
• unconspiringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of conspire¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French conspirer, from Latin conspīrāre “to act in harmony, conspire,” equivalent to con- + spīrāre “to breathe”; con-, spirant, spirit

Word History and Origins

Origin of conspire¹

C14: from Old French conspirer, from Latin conspīrāre to plot together, literally: to breathe together, from spīrāre to breathe

Synonym Study

See plot.

Example Sentences

Circumstances can conspire against us, but there should be room for improvement.

Read more on MarketWatch

Appreciative, too: He is grateful for the accidents of fortune that conspired to make his life, musical and otherwise, so satisfying.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He is also accused of conspiring with his son, David Anderson, and the council's former assistant director of highways and planning, Andrew Barr, 51, to arrange special access for his son's company SSC.

Read more on BBC

At a hearing in mid-September, Jahanshahi lashed out at Engell in open court, accusing him of “going behind her back” and conspiring to get her removed from the case.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It also alleges she conspired to file a false federal tax return claiming political spending and other personal expenses as business deductions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• collude 
• connive 
• cooperate 

When To Use

What does conspire mean?

Conspire commonly means to secretly plan with multiple other people to do something wrong, evil, or illegal.Such a plan is called a conspiracy. Conspiracy can also refer to the act of making such plans—the act of conspiring—or to the group making the plans. The people involved can be called conspirators.In a legal context, conspiracy refers to an agreement by two or more people conspiring to commit a crime.Conspire can also mean to act together to achieve some result. This use often likens inanimate objects to people engaging in a conspiracy, as in I was on time until the traffic and the weather conspired to make me late. Example: In the movie, supervillains conspire to steal all of the world’s bananas.