Meanings
present singular third person conspires · participle present conspiring · participle past conspired · past conspired
- intransitiveTo secretly plot or make plans together, often with the intention to bring bad or illegal results; to collude, to connive, to plot.
They conspired against [Joseph] to slay him.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 37:181 more example
And there came a man, rushing from the farthest end of the city. He said, “O Moses! The chiefs are actually conspiring against you to put you to death, so leave ˹the city˺. I really advise you ˹to do so˺.”
2015, Mustafa Khattab, transl., The Clear Quran, →ISBN, surah 28, verse 20Synonyms: collogue
- transitiveTo work together to bring about.
Rain and sweat conspired to smudge her mascara.
1 more example
Angry clouds conspire your overthrow.
1597, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in Virgidemiarum, Sixe Bookes. First Three Bookes, of Tooth-lesse Satyrs. […], London: […] Thomas Creede, for Robert Dexter, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo secretly plot or make plans together, often with the intention to bring bad or illegal results; to collude, to connive, to plot.
More synonyms by meaning
verbengage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together
verbact in unison or agreement and in secret towards a deceitful or illegal purpose
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinconspirare
- Old Frenchconspirer
- Middle Englishconspiren
- Englishconspire
From Middle English conspiren, from Old French conspirer, from Latin conspirare, conspīrō, from con- (combining form of cum (“with”)) + spīrō (“breathe”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَآمَرَ, اِئْتَمَرَ
- تَآمَرَ (taʔāmara)to secretly plot
- اِئْتَمَرَ (iʔtamara)to secretly plot
Bulgarian заговорнича
- заговорнича (zagovorniča)to secretly plot
Catalan conspirar
- conspirarto secretly plot
Chinese Mandarin 勾结
- 勾结 (gōujié)to secretly plot
Danish sammensværge sig
- sammensværge sigto secretly plot
Dutch samenzweren
- samenzwerento secretly plot
Esperanto konspiri, komploti
- konspirito secretly plot
- komplotito secretly plot
Finnish juonitella
- juonitellato secretly plot
German sich verschwören
- sich verschwörento secretly plot
Greek συνωμοτώ
- συνωμοτώ (synomotó)to secretly plot
Hungarian összeesküszik, konspirál
- összeesküszikto secretly plot
- konspirálto secretly plot
Indonesian berkomplot, bersekongkol
- berkomplotto secretly plot
- bersekongkolto secretly plot
Japanese 企む
- 企む (takuramu)to secretly plot
Latin coniūrō
- coniūrōto secretly plot
Māori whakatakoto kara, kakai
- whakatakoto karato secretly plot
- kakaito secretly plot
Polish spiskować, konspirować
- spiskowaćto secretly plot
- konspirowaćto secretly plot
- kombinowaćto secretly plot
- knućto secretly plot
- uknućto secretly plot
Portuguese conspirar
- conspirarto secretly plot
Russian замышля́ть, сгова́риваться
- замышля́ть (zamyšljátʹ)to secretly plot
- сгова́риваться (sgovárivatʹsja)to secretly plot
- сговори́ться (sgovorítʹsja)to secretly plot
Spanish conspirar, contlapachearse
- conspirarto secretly plot
- contlapachearseto secretly plot
- conspirarto try to make things go a certain way
Turkish komplo kurmak, gizlice anlaşmak
- komplo kurmakto secretly plot
- gizlice anlaşmakto secretly plot
Ukrainian змовля́тися, змо́витися
- змовля́тися (zmovljátysja)to secretly plot
- змо́витися (zmóvytysja)to secretly plot
Vietnamese âm mưu, mưu hại
- âm mưuto secretly plot
- mưu hạito secretly plot
- chung sứcto try to make things go a certain way
- hiệp lựcto try to make things go a certain way
Welsh cynllwynio
- cynllwynioto secretly plot
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with conspire
Anagrams
Cite this entry
conspire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conspire
“conspire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conspire. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “conspire,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conspire.
Source: conspire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.