Читаем Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

con|spi cu|ous con|su mp|tion N‑UNCOUNT Conspicuous consumption means spending your money in such a way that other people can see how wealthy you are. □  It was an age of conspicuous consumption–those who had money liked to display it.

con|spira|cy /kənsp I rəsi/ (conspiracies )

1 N‑VAR [oft N to-inf] Conspiracy is the secret planning by a group of people to do something illegal. □  Seven men, all from Bristol, admitted conspiracy to commit arson. □  He believes there was a conspiracy to kill the president.

2 N‑COUNT [oft N to-inf] A conspiracy is an agreement between a group of people which other people think is wrong or is likely to be harmful. □  He persuaded himself that they had formed some kind of conspiracy against him.

con|spi ra|cy theo|ry (conspiracy theories ) N‑COUNT A conspiracy theory is a belief that a group of people are secretly trying to harm someone or achieve something. You usually use this term to suggest that you think this is unlikely. □  Did you ever swallow the conspiracy theory about Kennedy?

con|spira|tor /kənsp I rətə ^r / (conspirators ) N‑COUNT A conspirator is a person who joins a conspiracy.

con|spira|to|rial /kənsp I rətɔː riəl/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone does something such as speak or smile in a conspiratorial way, they do it in a way that suggests they are sharing a secret with someone. □  His voice had sunk to a conspiratorial whisper.

con|spire /kənspa I ə ^r / (conspires , conspiring , conspired )

1 VERB If two or more people or groups conspire to do something illegal or harmful, they make a secret agreement to do it. □ [V to-inf] They'd conspired to overthrow the government. □ [V + with ] …a defendant convicted of conspiring with his brother to commit robberies. □ [V + against ] I had a persecution complex and thought people were conspiring against me.

2 VERB If events conspire to produce a particular result, they seem to work together to cause this result. □ [V to-inf] History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision. □ [V + against ] But fateful forces beyond the band's control were to conspire against them.

con|sta|ble /kʌ nstəb ^ə l, kɒ n-/ (constables )

1 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In Britain and some other countries, a constable is a police officer of the lowest rank. □  He was a constable at Sutton police station. □  …Constable Stuart Clark. □  Thanks for your help, Constable.

2 → see also Chief Constable

3 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In the United States, a constable is an official who helps keep the peace in a town. They are lower in rank than a sheriff.

con|stabu|lary /kənstæ bjʊləri, [AM ] -leri/ (constabularies )

1 N‑COUNT In Britain and some other countries, a constabulary is the police force of a particular area. □  …the Chief Constable of the Nottinghamshire Constabulary.

2 N‑COUNT In the United States, a constabulary is the constables in a particular area, or the area that they are responsible for.

con|stan|cy /kɒ nstənsi/

1 N‑UNCOUNT Constancy is the quality of staying the same even though other things change. □  We live in a world without constancy.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Constancy is the quality of being faithful and loyal to a particular person or belief. [APPROVAL ] □  …those who have proved their constancy in love.

con|stant ◆◆◇ /kɒ nstənt/ (constants )