conspire
/kənˈspaɪə(ɹ)/verb
conspire is spelled C-O-N-S-P-I-R-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, conspire means “To secretly plot or make plans together, often with the intention to bring bad or illegal results; to collude, to connive, to plot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in conspire?
| Letters | 8: C-O-N-S-P-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is conspire?
Conspire appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce conspire?
- /kənˈspaɪə(ɹ)/
Conspire has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-conspire.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of conspire
- conspires present, singular, he/she/it
- conspiring participle, present
- conspired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does conspire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To secretly plot or make plans together, often with the intention to bring bad or illegal results; to collude, to connive, to plot.
- 2
To agree, to concur to one end.
The press, the pulpit, and the stage / Conspire to censure and expose our age.
- 3
To work together to bring about.
Rain and sweat conspired to smudge her mascara.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Conspire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to secretly plot:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does conspire come from?
From Middle English conspiren, from Old French conspirer, from Latin conspirare, conspīrō, from con- (combining form of cum (“with”)) + spīrō (“breathe”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).