WORD FOR THE DAY(1/8/18)Cabal
cabal
noun ca·bal \ kə-ˈbäl , -ˈbal \
Definition of cabal
1 : the contrived schemes of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also : a group engaged in such schemes
2 : club, group
• a cabal of artists
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1614
Examples of cabal in a Sentence
1. a cabal plotting to overthrow the government
2. a conspiracy theory about the existence of an international cabal devoted to world domination
Recent Examples of cabal from the Web
• BBC America After five seasons of clone cabals, the BBC America/Space series Orphan Black has come to a mostly happy end.
• — joelle renstrom, Slate Magazine, "Orphan Black Was Never About Cloning," 13 Aug. 2017
• The cabal is run by Cuba on the ground but backed financially and strategically by Iran, Russia and Syria.
• — mary anastasia o’grady, WSJ, "Imperialists Invade Venezuela," 13 Aug. 2017
• In isolating connections between the JFK assassination and current government affairs, some critics identified a secret cabal which functioned to maintain the military-interventionist state.
• — art simon, Slate Magazine, "In The Parallax View, Conspiracy Goes All the Way to the Top—and Beyond," 21 July 2017
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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cabal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
In A Child's History of England, Charles Dickens associates the word cabal with a group of five ministers in the government of England's King Charles II. The initial letters of the names or titles of those men (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale) spell cabal, and Dickens dubbed them the "Cabal Ministry." These five men were widely regarded as invidious, secretive plotters and their activities may have encouraged English speakers to associate cabal with high-level government intrigue. But their names are not the source of the word cabal, which was in use decades before Charles II ascended the throne. The term can be traced back through French to cabbala, the Medieval Latin name for the Kabbalah, a traditional system of esoteric Jewish mysticism.
Origin and Etymology of cabal
French cabale cabala, intrigue, cabal, from Medieval Latin cabbala cabala, from Late Hebrew qabbālāh, literally, received (lore)
cabal Synonyms
Synonyms
1ring, conspiracy, crew, gang, Mafia, mob, syndicate
Related Words bunch, circle, clan, clique, coterie, coven, crowd, galère, lot, network, pack, set; junta, oligarchy