Colludes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To work together in secret, often to deceive or defraud others
2. To secretly collaborate in order to cheat or gain an unfair advantage
3. To conspire privately to accomplish something dishonest or illegal

Etymology: "Colludes" is the third-person singular form of "collude," so it traces back to the same root. That root is Latin "collūdere," built from "con-" (together) and "lūdere" (to play). The Latin sense was literally "to play together," and from that came the idea of playing a joint game in the sense of a secret arrangement, which is how English has used the verb since it arrived. The shift from play to plotting is the core of the story: a shared game requires agreement among the players, and that agreement, when kept hidden from others, became the modern meaning of working together in secret.

Synonyms: conspires, schemes, plots

Antonyms: disagrees, dissents, diverges