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collusion

kuh-LOO-zhun /kəˈluːʒən/

nounC1GREGMATCATUPSC

formallegalpolitical

Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others.

Implies covert agreement between two or more parties (e.g., rival companies or officials) to manipulate outcomes unfairly.

The story behind the word. Derived from Latin 'colludere' — literally 'to play together' or 'have a secret game'. The word initially described two people pretending to play against each other in a game while secretly teaming up to cheat other players.

Word relationships

conspiracy: Conspiracy implies planning a criminal act together, while collusion focuses on deceptive cooperation to manipulate market or political systems.
complicity: Complicity is being involved in a crime, whereas collusion emphasizes secret agreement between entities.

competition: Independent rivalry in business or politics without secret cooperation.
transparency: Open and observable actions without hidden agreements.

Commonly confused with

collision: Collision means physical crash or impact, while collusion means secret illegal agreement.

Word family

collude (verb): To cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or deceitful purpose.
collusive (adjective): Involving secret or unlawful cooperation.

Collocations

act in collusion
evidence of collusion
collusion between
uncover collusion

Idioms & expressions

in league with
hand in glove

Example sentences

"The trade commission fined three major airlines for price-fixing collusion that inflated ticket costs." Antitrust Law
"Investigators found evidence of covert collusion between electoral officials and foreign operatives." Political Analysis

Memory hook

Co-LUD-ion = co (together) + play games (ludic) in secret. Playing a secret game together to cheat others.

When not to use

Do not use for open partnerships or lawful business joint ventures.

Fun facts

In game theory, 'collusive equilibrium' describes when competing firms secretly coordinate prices to maximize shared profits.