collude
/kə'lu:ʤn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To cooperate secretly or dishonestly with others, especially to deceive or cheat someone, or to do something illegal or unethical. This action implies a hidden agreement between parties to achieve a shared, often wrongful, goal.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- The two companies were found to collude to fix prices, harming consumers.
- Investigators suspect the guards colluded with the thieves to allow the robbery.
- They denied allegations that they had colluded to rig the bidding process.
Advanced Usage
- "to collude in/on something": To secretly plan or participate in a specific deceitful act.
- Several officials were accused of colluding in the cover-up.
- "to collude with someone": To form a secret partnership with a specific person or group for a wrongful purpose.
- The athlete was banned for colluding with a gambler.
Variants and Related Words
- Collusion (n): The secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others.
- The merger was blocked due to evidence of collusion between the firms.
- Collusive (adj): Involving, characterized by, or done in collusion.
- The court ruled the agreement was collusive and therefore void.
Synonyms
- Conspire: To jointly make secret plans to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
- Connive: To secretly allow something considered immoral, illegal, or harmful to occur; often implies tacit cooperation.
- Plot: To secretly make plans to carry out a scheme, often illegal.
Related Phrases
- In collusion with: Working together secretly for a dishonest purpose.
- He was acting in collusion with a rival company.
Idioms
- To be in cahoots (with someone): (Informal idiom) To be collaborating secretly, especially for a dishonest purpose. This is a less formal equivalent.
- Everyone thought the two politicians were in cahoots.
Verb
- act in unison or agreement and in secret towards a deceitful or illegal purpose
- The two companies conspired to cause the value of the stock to fall