con ‧ spi ‧ ra ‧ cy /kənˈspɪrəsi/ BrE AmE noun ( plural conspiracies ) [uncountable and countable]
1 . a secret plan made by two or more people to do something that is harmful or illegal ⇨ conspire
conspiracy to do something
He was charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
conspiracy against
a conspiracy against the government
There were many conspiracy theories (=beliefs that something is the result of a conspiracy) surrounding Princess Diana’s death.
2 . conspiracy of silence an agreement not to talk about something, even though it should not be a secret:
There’s often a conspiracy of silence surrounding bullying in schools.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ an international/worldwide/global conspiracy
Hitler believed there was a worldwide conspiracy to enslave Germany.
▪ a criminal conspiracy
His crimes were illegal possession of arms and criminal conspiracy.
▪ a political conspiracy
Were the killings part of a political conspiracy?
▪ an alleged conspiracy (=that people say exists but that is not yet proved to exist)
The charges against him relate to an alleged conspiracy.
■ verbs
▪ be part of a conspiracy ( also take part in a conspiracy )
The jury found that Poindexter was part of a conspiracy to ship arms to Iran.
▪ be involved in a conspiracy
Apparently the commander of the army had also been involved in the conspiracy.
▪ be charged with conspiracy (=be formally accused of it)
The women were charged with conspiracy to supply heroin.
▪ be convicted of conspiracy (=be found guilty of it in a court)
He was convicted of conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts.
■ conspiracy + NOUN
▪ a conspiracy theory (=a belief by a number of people that something is the result of a conspiracy)
President Kennedy’s assassination inspired a lot of conspiracy theories.
▪ a conspiracy theorist (=someone who believes in a particular conspiracy)
Conspiracy theorists believe that Princess Diana’s death was not an accident.
▪ a conspiracy charge/charge of conspiracy
Three men have been convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges.
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THESAURUS
▪ plan a set of actions for achieving something in the future, especially a set of actions that has been considered carefully and in detail:
Leaders outlined a plan to end the fighting.
▪ plot/conspiracy a secret plan to do something bad or illegal, made by a group of people:
There was a plot to assassinate the President.
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a terrorist conspiracy
▪ scheme British English an official plan that is intended to help people:
The government has introduced a new scheme to help young people find work.
▪ strategy a carefully designed plan which is intended to achieve a particular purpose over a long period of time:
the company’s business strategy
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The government’s economic strategy has been criticized by many experts.
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We need to develop effective strategies for combating the sale of counterfeit goods.
▪ initiative a new plan for dealing with a particular problem or for achieving a particular aim:
a peace initiative
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a major new initiative to tackle street crime
▪ policy a plan that members of a government, political party, company etc agree on, that states how they intend to deal with a particular subject or problem:
the government’s immigration policy
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It’s company policy to allow people to work from home.
▪ programme British English , program American English a series of activities that a government or organization organizes, which aims to achieve something important and will continue for a long time:
a five-year programme which will create 2000 new jobs
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federal programs for low-income housing