小词详解 | collude

collude 英 [kəˈluːd] 美 [kəˈluːd]

TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

• Markets might not be very competitive at all, some economists reckoned, because it is costly for workers to find and switch jobs, or because large firms dominate markets or collude to suppress pay.
  一些经济学家认为，市场可能根本不是高度竞争性的，因为工人寻找和转换工作的成本很高，或者因为大公司垄断了市场或合谋压低工资。
  ——《经济学人》
• But Mr. Song was already beginning to believe that nearly every corner of the American criminal justice system — from the police to the medical examiner — was colluding to hide the truth.
  但宋先生已开始认为，美国刑事司法系统的几乎每一个角落——从警察到法医——都在串通一气隐瞒真相。
  ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[verb] cooperate in a secret or unlawful way in order to deceive or gain an advantage over others
[动词] 以秘密或非法的方式合作，以欺骗他人或取得对他人的优势

深入解读

Collude 与 collide （碰撞、相撞）形似，但意思截然不同。Collude 一词源自拉丁语 colludere （串通行为，字面意思为“一起玩”），含义单一，仅表示“密谋、勾结、串通”，主要用于形容合谋诈骗或欺诈第三方，比如：

• 警方涉嫌与证人暗中串通。
  It was suspected that the police had colluded with the witnesses.

另外值得注意的是， collude 的名词形式 collusion 除了表示“密谋、勾结、串通”的行为外，还是个经济术语，指“同业企业之间为抬高价格、瓜分市场或限制竞争等而达成的共谋协议”。

权威用例

境外敌对势力与“三股势力”沆瀣一气，杜撰历史、歪曲事实，逆历史潮流而动，其结果必将被历史和人民所唾弃。
Hostile foreign forces and separatist, religious extremist and terrorist forces that have colluded to distort history and tamper with facts run counter to the trend of our times and will be cast aside by history and the people.

出自《新疆的若干历史问题》（Historical Matters Concerning Xinjiang）白皮书。

同近义词

• conspire: make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act
• connive: conspire to do something considered immoral, illegal, or harmful
• plot: secretly make plans to carry out (an illegal or harmful action)

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