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collusion

kuh-LOO-zhun /kəˈluː.ʒən/

nounC2GREGMATCAT

legalacademic

Secret cooperation or agreement between parties to deceive, mislead, or gain an unfair advantage over others.

Implies covert and usually illegal or unethical cooperation to distort free market competition.

The story behind the word. Derived from Latin 'colludere', literally meaning 'to play together'. In Roman law, it described secret understanding between litigants to deceive a judge, which later expanded into modern antitrust and economic terminology.

Word relationships

conspiracy: 'Conspiracy' applies broadly to illegal schemes, whereas 'collusion' specifically emphasizes economic or market manipulation.
complicity: 'Complicity' implies partnership in wrongdoing generally, whereas 'collusion' focuses on secret cooperation between competitors.

competition: 'Competition' involves open rivalries striving for market success independently.

Commonly confused with

illusion: 'Illusion' is a false perception, whereas 'collusion' is secret illegal cooperation.

Word family

collude (verb): To cooperate secretively or illegally.
collusive (adjective): Involving secret or illegal cooperation.

Collocations

tacit collusion
price-fixing collusion
suspected collusion
act in collusion

Idioms & expressions

in league with

Example sentences

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Classic Economics
"The regulators launched an investigation into allegations of collusion between the two dominant electronics manufacturers." Antitrust Law

Memory hook

Co-LUD-ing is playing (ludere) together in secret. Secret playing to fix the game.

When not to use

Do not use for open, legal business partnerships or transparent strategic alliances.

Fun facts

Economists distinguish between 'explicit collusion' (direct communication) and 'tacit collusion' (coordination without direct contact).