as in Mafias
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
a conspiracy theory about the existence of an international cabal devoted to world domination
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Recent Examples of cabals
Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
With a story of secret cabals and a child born to rule, Dumont projects the nasty prejudices and bureaucratic rigors of local politics, the tangles of family allegiances, and the tender grunge of young lust into divine and diabolical clashes run from celestial and subterranean castles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel, Shadow Ticket, set in 1932 Milwaukee, takes place in a landscape of industrial ghosts, strike-breakers, fascist sympathizers and absurdist cabals.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for cabals
Verb
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The ash people’s perspective allies them with the group looking to strip-mine Pandora’s resources.—
Noun
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By 2001 coyotes were so much in the news in the Windy City that in that year Chicago homeowners listed them—not street gangs, not burglars, but coyotes—as the single greatest threat to their safety.—
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Cedre said Porter’s father was heavily involved with Compton gangs, but his mother worked tirelessly to help her son avoid that lifestyle — only for his life to end in gunfire anyway.—
Verb
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Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Noun
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Trump has also repeatedly lashed out over the state’s incarceration of Tina Peters, the former county clerk convicted of state felonies related to her attempts to prove discredited election conspiracies shared by the president.—
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Contrary to what many may think, the researchers found no correlation between a person’s level of education and their capacity to believe in absurd conspiracies.—
Noun
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Outside the capital, guerrilla groups and organized crime syndicates are exploiting the power vacuum along Venezuela’s borders and in its resource-rich interior.—
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Many of the scam compounds operating across Southeast Asia are run by Chinese crime syndicates.—
Verb
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The Chinese startup has a strategic partnership with Changan Automobile, which not only invested in the startup but also collaborates closely on technological innovation.—
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The group collaborates with schools to provide free music education that can inspire personal development, foster a sense of community, and prepare future leaders.—
Noun
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As far as the national sports networks are concerned this week, Payton and his players might as well be extras in their own movie.—
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However, your iPhone can still make emergency calls using other networks and possibly via satellite.—
Noun
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For example, Crow people have held onto their nation's language; neighbors are often family, or considered such; and many tribal members rely on their clans to mentor children, who eventually become mentors themselves for the next generation.—
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But when Klaus’ toys begin to cheer up the children of Smeerensburg — a town whose inhabitants are perpetually engaged in a feud between two familial clans — Jesper and Klaus must step out of their comfort zones to help save the town from itself.—
Cite this Entry
“Cabals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cabals. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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