conspire

/kənˈspaɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈspaɪər/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈspī(-ə)r/ (ame, mw)

conspire — verb

  • conspirepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • conspireshe / she / it
  • conspiredpast simple
  • conspiring-ing form

1. if a group of people conspire, they secretly agree among themselves to do someth

1.動詞不及物C1
釋義

if a group of people conspire, they secretly agree among themselves to do something harmful, illegal, or wrong, usually targeted at another person, company, or government.

例句

Two senior managers conspired with a supplier to overcharge the company by thousands of dollars.

conspire with + person + to-infinitive

Prosecutors say the four men conspired to rob the jewellery shop last March.

conspire + to-infinitive for a planned crime

同義詞
  • plot

    near-synonym, slightly more dramatic and used of single actors too

  • scheme

    informal; often about smaller-scale dishonest plans

  • collude

    stresses the agreement between parties more than the act planned; common in business/finance contexts

文法句型

conspire with somebody

conspire against somebody

conspire to do something

用法筆記

Subject is normally two or more people acting together — a single subject takes a `with` phrase (`Vivek conspired with his cousin`). Object of the plan is almost always negative: a crime, a betrayal, or harm to a named target.

常見錯誤

❌He conspired the plan with his friend.
✅He conspired with his friend to carry out the plan.
💡'conspire' does not take a direct object; the plan goes in a to-infinitive.

2. if events, circumstances, or natural forces conspire, they happen at the same ti

2.動詞不及物C2
釋義

if events, circumstances, or natural forces conspire, they happen at the same time in a way that combines to produce a result — usually a bad one — as if they had agreed on it together.

例句

Heavy rain and a broken signal conspired to make Lucía miss her flight.

inanimate subjects + conspire + to-infinitive

Bad weather, high fuel prices, and a strike all conspired against the small airline.

conspire against + person/group with multiple subjects

同義詞
  • combine

    neutral; says nothing about whether the result is bad

  • work together

    everyday wording for the same idea, no negative slant

文法句型

events conspire to do something

everything conspires against somebody

用法筆記

Subject is inanimate (events, weather, factors, circumstances) — no real planning is implied. Often softened with `seem to` because the writer knows there is no actual agreement. Result is almost always bad for somebody, named with `against` or implied by the to-infinitive.

常見錯誤

❌The weather conspired to give us a beautiful sunny day.
✅The weather happened to give us a beautiful sunny day.
💡this sense almost always describes a negative result; using it for a happy outcome sounds odd.