1
as in to ignore
to secretly sympathize with or pretend ignorance of something improper or unlawful
the principal connived at all the school absences that were recorded on the day of the city's celebration of its Super Bowl victory
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to plot
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
suspects that his coworkers are conniving to get him fired
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Recent Examples of connive
With Ryan O’Neal as the conniving fool who social-climbs and lies his way through war and peace, Kubrick matches perfectly paced, often-hilarious satire with a sanguine view of human selfishness and impermanence.
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Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
According to legend, the monarch, his army and conniving knights were invading the Cotswolds when a witch outsmarted them, fossilizing their bodies forever.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 3 Sep. 2025
This conniving force of darkness is pretty simple at a basic level.
—Vivian Tu, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Authorities said Sutton ignored multiple commands to comply and resisted detention.—
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The background checks on Cook, if in fact there were any, were totally ignored.—
Verb
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Bea incredulously finds out that Christy has been involved in a treasure hunt for years now, believing that there is a million dollars hidden somewhere in the state, planning and plotting her methods of finding it, and Christy is finally setting her plan in motion.—
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But moderate House Republicans are plotting potential compromise measures with moderates in the Senate.—
Verb
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The hotel itself is a rhapsody in clean, modern design that subtly winks to the legion efforts behind it.—
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Maybe there’s some wink-winking, nudge-nudging going on, with one side or the other assuming an unspoken deal has been cut.—
Verb
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As part of a Home Instead ad campaign, the actor reprised his role as the movie's scheming protagonist, now all grown up.—
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No Warriors were involved, but Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — as well as Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — was arrested and charged with scheming to rig underground poker games.—
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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