Word.ws English Dictionary

conspiracy theory

UK/kənˈspɪɹəsi ˌθɪəɹi//kənˈspɪɹəsi ˌθi.əɹi/

conspiracy theory noun: hypothetical speculation that is commonly considered untrue or outlandish.

Noun

conspiracy theory (plural conspiracy theories)

  1. (derogatory) Hypothetical speculation that is commonly considered untrue or outlandish.
    • Before discussing Norman Mailer's magisterial bid for dominance in this field, I want to use Richard Cordon to anticipate a common liberal objection - the objection that all this is 'conspiracy theory'. One has become used to this stolid, complacent return serve: so apparently grounded in reason...1993, Christopher Hitchens, For the Sake of Argument
    • “So, like I’m Rock Hudson? I’m not sure that’s the answer.”
      “Ah,” Lola smiles knowingly, “that’s all just a conspiracy theory. He enjoyed the ladies too.”2007, Rick Huffman, Baxter Peanut, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 153
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see conspiracy, theory. A hypothesis that posits conspiracy or collusion.
    • England has had quite enough to do in Europe and Asia, without going out of her way to meddle with America. It was a physical and moral impossibility that she could be carrying on a gigantic conspiracy against us. But our masses, having only a rough general knowledge of foreign affairs, and not...1863 January 11, Charles Astor Bristed, “English Insincerity on the Slavery Question. [Letter to the Editor]”, in The New York Times, page 3
    • It is impossible, within the limits set for this Answer, to deal in any detail with the conspiracy theory which Dr. Boyd has put forward with such virulence for so many years and which apparently has been adopted by His Majesty's Government, at least in part.1923, American and British Claims Arbitration: The Rio Grande Claim. Answer of the United States, Press of Byron S. Adams, The Conspiracy Theory, page 28

conspiracy theory meaning in Tamil, Arabic, Malay and Indonesian

conspiracy theory in Tamil

சதிக் கோட்பாடு

conspiracy theory in Arabic

hypothetical speculation
نَظَرِيَّة مُؤَامَرَة naẓariyyat al-muʔāmara

conspiracy theory in Malay

hypothetical speculation
teori konspirasi, teori persekongkolan

conspiracy theory in Indonesian

hypothetical speculation
teori konspirasi
More languagesFewer languages
conspiracy theory in Thai
ทฤษฎีสมคบคิด trít-sà-dii-sǒm-kóp-kít, ทฤษฎีสมรู้ร่วมคิด
conspiracy theory in Vietnamese
thuyết âm mưu

Examples of conspiracy theory in a sentence

  • They only look at the sudden right-about-face movement of the English Press and public, which is most readily accounted for on the conspiracy theory.1863 January 11, Charles Astor Bristed, “English Insincerity on the Slavery Question. [Letter to the Editor]”, in The New York Times, page...
  • If the zodiac was already developed in 2000 BC, it must have been kept as a cult secret or in some non-Babylonian country; this would be a 1500-year conspiracy theory.1998, John H. Roger, “Origins of the ancient constellations: II. The Mediterranean traditions”, in Journal of the British Astronomy...
  • But if a conspiracy theory is simply a theory that posits a conspiracy – a secret plan on the part of some group to influence events by partly secret means – […]2007, Charles R. Pigden, “Conspiracy Theories and the Conventional Wisdom”, in Episteme: A Journal of Social Epistemology, volume 4, number...
  • The main problem with any particular conspiracy theory is not that it's wrong, but that it's inarguable; not that it's false, but that it is unfalsifiable.2020, Maj Dr. Ebenezer Kwakye Agyemang (Rtd), DECODING 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS: Outbreak: Conspiracies: Impact, page 153:

Forms of conspiracy theory

pluralconspiracy theories

Words formed from conspiracy theory

Questions about conspiracy theory

What does conspiracy theory mean?
Conspiracy theory means hypothetical speculation that is commonly considered untrue or outlandish.
What is conspiracy theory in Tamil?
Conspiracy theory in Tamil is சதிக் கோட்பாடு. See Conspiracy theory meaning in Tamil.
How do you use conspiracy theory in a sentence?
They only look at the sudden right-about-face movement of the English Press and public, which is most readily accounted for on the conspiracy theory.
What part of speech is conspiracy theory?
Conspiracy theory is a noun.
How do you pronounce conspiracy theory?
Conspiracy theory is pronounced /kənˈspɪɹəsi ˌθɪəɹi/ (UK).
What is the plural of conspiracy theory?
The plural of conspiracy theory is conspiracy theories.

Words near conspiracy theory in the dictionary

  1. conspiracy theorists
  2. conspiracy theorize
  3. conspiracy theorized
  4. conspiracy theorizes
  5. conspiracy theorizing
  6. conspiracy theory
  7. conspiracy-theoretic
  8. conspiracy-theorize
  9. conspiracy-theorized
  10. conspiracy-theorizes
  11. conspiracy-theorizing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: conspiracy theory (page history and authors); conspiracy theory (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-conspiracy theory.wav.

Cite this entry: “conspiracy theory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/conspiracy_theory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.