Collude

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəˈluːd/

Definitions

1. To work together secretly or dishonestly to achieve a common purpose, especially to deceive or defraud others
2. To engage in a secretive or dishonest partnership aimed at accomplishing a shared goal, particularly one that involves deceit or fraud against others
3. To participate in a covert and unethical alliance for the purpose of achieving mutual interests, often at the expense of honesty or integrity

Etymology: Latin "lūdere" meant "to play," and "collūdere" combined it with "con-" ("together") to mean "to play together," with a sense of playing with or deceiving someone. That sense of secret play is what carried into English, where "collude" took on the idea of a joint scheme carried out behind someone's back. The surprising part is how much of the original playfulness hides inside the modern sense. "Lūdere" is also the root of "ludicrous," "ludo," and "allude" (to play at or touch on something indirectly), so "collude" belongs to a family of words all built on the notion of playing. What began as two people acting out a game together became, in English, a term for conspiracy with a moral taint.

Synonyms: conspire, collaborate, connive, plot, scheme

Antonyms: disagree, oppose, diverge, dissent, break