conspiratorial

American

[kuhn-spir-uh-tawr-ee-uhl] / kənˌspɪr əˈtɔr i əl /

Sometimes conspiratory

adjective

relating to or being a conspiracy, a secretive plan that is unlawful, harmful, or evil.

They believe these rulings to be the result of a conspiratorial plot cooked up by big business interests.
suggesting or giving the impression of such a plan.

The memory I have of that night is of wicked giggles and conspiratorial whispering about Tim with my best friend Gillian.

Other Word Forms

conspiratorially adverb
nonconspiratorial adjective

Etymology

Origin of conspiratorial

conspiratory + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And this is always … again, I come back to the conspiratorial point because I do think that that is a form of conspiracy theory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Although she renounced some of her past conspiratorial views, the House voted to remove her from her committee assignments shortly after she took office.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

“What we’re seeing with this phenomenon is that people with either conspiratorial or grandiose delusional thinking get reinforced.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

Though they’re written through a conspiratorial lens, Teddy’s exhaustion and paranoia feel grounded in reality.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025

Comrade Pillai switched to Malayalam and a confiding, conspiratorial voice.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023