collusion

plural collusions

1. countableuncountableA private, cooperative agreement or arrangement between groups that otherwise maintain the pretense of competition, contention or non-cooperation.

   Furthermore, there is good reason for firms to try to collude without express communication, and thus find themselves dealing with less than full mutual understanding.

   2012, Joseph E. Harrington, A theory of tacit collusion

2. countableuncountableA private agreement for a fraudulent or illegal purpose; conspiracy.

   Once derided as a nationalist conspiracy theory, collusion is by now an undeniable fact. The scale, however, remains unknown.

   2023 August 30, Megan K. Stack, Rob Stothard, “He Was Shot 14 Times at the Dinner Table. His Children Want to Know if Britain Ordered the Hit.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   3 more examples

   Such tunges unhappy hath made great diviſion In realmes, in cities, by ſuche fals abuſion; Of fals fickil tunges ſuche cloked colluſion

   c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.

   The dispatches […] also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies. Having lectured the Arab world about democracy for years, its collusion in suppressing freedom was undeniable as protesters were met by weaponry and tear gas made in the west, employed by a military trained by westerners.

   2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18

   So why is Japan going ahead with the Olympics, against the public’s objections, while the pandemic is still a major public health concern? The answer is familiar: collusion among the elites.

   2021 March 25, Koichi Nakano, “The Olympics Are On! But Why?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN