What does conspiration mean?
Conspiration refers to the act of plotting or acting together in secret, typically toward an unlawful, harmful, or otherwise covert end. It functions largely as a synonym for conspiracy, though it is markedly less common in modern usage and tends to appear in literary, historical, or deliberately archaic contexts rather than everyday speech. The word derives from Latin conspirare, literally meaning "to breathe together," which vividly captures the image of plotters huddled close enough to share their breath — and by extension to agree and act in harmony. Beyond its sense of criminal collusion, older texts occasionally use conspiration more broadly to describe any concerted action or natural concurrence, such as forces or circumstances working in tandem. Because it overlaps so closely with conspiracy, readers encountering it should treat it as a rarer variant of a familiar concept: useful for writers seeking an elevated or period-appropriate tone, but not part of ordinary modern vocabulary.
A joint secret plan by two or more persons to do something unlawful or harmful; the act of conspiring.
"The conspiration among the officers was exposed by a single intercepted letter."
Now rare; conspiracy is the standard term in both legal and general contexts.
(Archaic) A combination or concurrence of things acting together in harmony.
"An unusual conspiration of wind and tide carried the ship safely into harbor."
As a countable noun, conspiration takes the regular plural; the plural is rarely used given the word's rarity.
"The court records detail several failed conspirations against the crown."
"Conspiration" literally means "breathing together" — the same Latin verb spirare that gave us respiration and spirit once described plotters leaning in to share the same air.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of conspiration
Conspiration comes from Latin conspirare, formed from con- (together) and spirare (to breathe), originally describing people breathing together in close counsel. It entered English in the late Middle Ages through Old French conspiracion, where it came to mean both secret plotting and, more generally, agreement or concurrence. It shares this root with conspire, conspiracy, and ultimately with words like respiration and spirit, all descended from the Latin spirare.
Related word forms
How conspiration is actually used
Conspiration is rare in contemporary English, where conspiracy is overwhelmingly preferred. It survives mainly in historical writing, translations of French literature, and specialized or archaic usage, and it carries a formal, somewhat literary register.
Easily confused with conspiration
Conspiracy is the standard modern term for a secret plot or its planning, while conspiration is a rarer, older synonym that also retains the literal sense of 'breathing together' from its Latin root.