🇬🇧 Cabal meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

A cabal is a small, sneaky group of people who secretly work together to get power or change something important, especially in politics. They usually don’t tell others what they’re planning, and they have secret meetings, secret plans, and sometimes even secret codes. A cabal is like a hidden team trying to control what happens without everyone else knowing.

A cabal of teachers secretly met to decide the exact same day to give surprise quizzes, probably just to watch us panic.

We discovered a cabal of babysitters who all agreed to say, “Because I said so,” at the exact same mysterious moments.

The student council cabal tried to replace the school anthem with a song about pizza and nap time.

The youngest kids formed a cabal to secretly switch all “Do your homework” signs with “Take a nap instead.”

The word “cabal” was once jokingly linked to five ministers of King Charles II—Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale—whose initials spelled C.A.B.A.L., making their real political group sound like a secret villain club.

A cabal met in the dark cellar, heads bent over a rough map. The cabal, five figures by candlelight, whispered about taking the mayor's seat. One cabal voice said "now"; another cabal member tapped a coin. The cabal leader smiled. A child watched, ran out, and the town closed the cellar. The cabal fled; everyone cheered.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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