wikipedia
English
Noun
en-noun|sg=conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories
- A belief in or allegation of a group conspire|conspiring, or having conspired, to commit an illegal or wrongful act, or to cover up such an act; especially, such a belief that is rejected by mainstream sources.
- context|dismissive Hence, any belief that is considered far-fetched by the mainstream; a crackpot theory.
#*2007, Rick Huffman, Baxter Peanut, Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 1425737196, page 153,
#*:�So, like I�m Rock Hudson? I�m not sure that�s the answer.� <br /> �Ah,� Lola smiles knowingly, �that�s all just a conspiracy theory. He enjoyed the ladies <!-- [sic] no comma --> too.�
Usage notes
unreferenced|List style guides or dictionaries that explicitly indicate this can be used without a dismissive or pejorative connotation.
The term conspiracy theory is sometimes used in an attempt to imply that a theory is not worthy of serious consideration, usually with phrasing indicative of dismissal (e.g., "just a conspiracy theory"). However, any particular instance of use is not necessarily pejorative.
Translations
Croatian: teorija zavjere f
Finnish: salaliittoteoria
German: Verschwörungstheorie f
Derived terms
conspiracy theorist
ru:conspiracy theory
|
