conspiracy /kənˈspɪrəsi /
▸ noun
(pl. conspiracies)
a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful:
a conspiracy to destroy the government.
[emoji830] [mass noun] the action of plotting or conspiring:
they were cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
– PHRASES
a conspiracy of silence
an agreement to say nothing about an issue that should be generally known:
the ministers took part in a conspiracy of silence over the decision to close the steelworks.
– ORIGIN late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French conspiracie, alteration of Old French conspiration, based on Latin conspirare ‘agree, plot’ (see conspire).