cabal

1 of 2

noun

ca·​bal kə-ˈbäl How to pronounce cabal (audio) -ˈbal How to pronounce cabal (audio)
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

cabal

2 of 2

verb

caballed; caballing

intransitive verb

: to unite in or form a cabal

Did you know?

Cabal has been associated 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) spelled cabal, and they have been collectively dubbed as the "Cabal Cabinet" or "Cabal Ministry." But these five names are not the source of the word cabal, which was in use decades before Charles II ascended the throne. The term traces back to cabbala, the Medieval Latin name for the Kabbalah, a traditional system of esoteric Jewish mysticism. Latin borrowed Cabbala from the Hebrew qabbālāh, meaning "received or traditional lore."

Choose the Right Synonym for cabal

plot, intrigue, machination, conspiracy, cabal mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end.

plot implies careful foresight in planning a complex scheme.

an assassination plot

intrigue suggests secret underhanded maneuvering in an atmosphere of duplicity.

backstairs intrigue

machination implies a contriving of annoyances, injuries, or evils by indirect means.

the machinations of a party boss

conspiracy implies a secret agreement among several people usually involving treason or great treachery.

a conspiracy to fix prices

cabal typically applies to political intrigue involving persons of some eminence.

a cabal among powerful senators

Examples of cabal in a Sentence

Noun a cabal plotting to overthrow the government a conspiracy theory about the existence of an international cabal devoted to world domination
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
To be precise, the debate about her resignation has ignored the noxious context, which is a concerted attack on American higher education — indeed, all education — by a right-wing cabal. Gay, whatever her faults, is clear-eyed about this context. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024 Perlmutter would become a major donor to Trump’s presidential run and, during Trump’s presidency, would be part of a three-person Mar-a-Lago cabal that unofficially ran the Department of Veteran Affairs. Joanna Robinson, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2023 These companies apparently have the effrontery to resist the attempts to reduce their access to capital being organized, primarily, by a largely unaccountable cabal of activists, financial institutions, and state pension funds. Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 7 Jan. 2024 After the election of Trump, some of Pizzagate’s ideas were incorporated into QAnon, the jumbled set of conspiracy theories that falsely asserted that Trump was covertly fighting an elite cabal of satanic pedophiles that ran the world. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2023 The book spans decades of climatic unraveling to chronicle the rise of the Children of Kali, a cabal that kills thousands of innocent people on Crash Day, sometime in the 2030s, by flying drones into the engines of dozens of commercial airliners. Christopher Ketcham, Harper's Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023 Gone is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a weird cabal of foreign journalists who love nothing more than accepting gifts and hobnobbing/taking selfies with talent. Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2024 Gone is the shadowy, easily influenced cabal of voters known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. James Grebey, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024 Amidst a line of hair care products, a sustainable jewelry collection, and a formal beauty line launching early next year, Balmain continues to disrupt the cabals of beauty and fashion. Killian Wright-Jackson, Essence, 1 Dec. 2023
Verb
Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. Martin Finucane, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2019 Powell is drawing encouragement from the significant losses of candidates who, like Burton, are backed by the Empower Texans cabal attempting to take control of the Texas Legislature. Richard Greene, star-telegram, 24 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cabal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French cabale cabala, intrigue, cabal, from Medieval Latin cabbala cabala, from Late Hebrew qabbālāh, literally, received (lore)

First Known Use

Noun

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1678, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cabal was in 1614

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Dictionary Entries Near cabal

Cite this Entry

“Cabal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cabal

noun
ca·​bal
kə-ˈbal,
-ˈbäl
: a small group of persons working together secretly (as to take over a government)

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