Definition

1. Verb:
   • To be in collusion, to conspire: To secretly agree or cooperate with someone, typically to do something illegal, dishonest, or harmful.
   • To be in league, to connive: To work together in a secret or underhanded way to achieve a shared, often illicit, goal.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hai nhân viên đó bị cáo buộc thông đồng để ăn cắp dữ liệu. (Those two employees are accused of being in collusion to steal data.)
  • Kẻ buôn lậu thông đồng với một số quan chức hải quan. (The smuggler is in league with some customs officials.)
  • Họ bị phát hiện đã thông đồng với nhau để thao túng giá thầu. (They were discovered to have conspired to rig the bidding process.)

Advanced Usage

• "thông đồng với": to collude with, to be in cahoots with.

  • Công ty đó bị điều tra vì nghi ngờ thông đồng với đối thủ. (That company is under investigation for suspected collusion with a competitor.)

• "sự thông đồng" (noun form): collusion, conspiracy.

  • Sự thông đồng giữa họ đã bị phơi bày. (The collusion between them was exposed.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cấu kết (verb): To ally, to collude (often implies a stronger, more formalized secret alliance).

  • Hai băng đảng cấu kết với nhau. (The two gangs allied with each other.)

• Đồng lõa (verb/noun): To be an accomplice; an accomplice.

  • Anh ta bị buộc tội đồng lõa trong vụ trộm. (He was charged as an accomplice in the theft.)

Synonyms

• Mưu mô (verb): To plot, to scheme.
• Thông lưng (verb, informal): To work hand in glove, to collude (often used in a corrupt context).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Thông đồng bén giọt": To be in perfect collusion; to work together seamlessly (often for a bad purpose). This idiom describes a situation where the conspirators understand each other so well that their cooperation is smooth and efficient.
  • Bọn chúng thông đồng bén giọt với nhau, khiến việc điều tra gặp nhiều khó khăn. (They are in perfect collusion with each other, making the investigation very difficult.)

verb

1. to be in collusion, to compromise, to be in league