connive

con·nive

verb \kə-ˈnīv\

con·nivedcon·niv·ing

Definition of CONNIVE

intransitive verb

1

: to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose <the government connived in the rebels' military buildup>

2

a : to be indulgent or in secret sympathy : wink b : to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding

3

: conspire, intrigue <accused his opponents of conniving to defeat the proposal>

— con·niv·er noun

Examples of CONNIVE

1. <the principal connived at all the school absences that were recorded on the day of the city's celebration of its Super Bowl victory>
2. <suspects that his coworkers are conniving to get him fired>

Origin of CONNIVE

French or Latin; French conniver, from Latin conivēre, connivēre to close the eyes, connive, from com- + -nivēre (akin to nictare to wink); akin to Old English & Old High German hnīgan to bow

First Known Use: 1601

Related to CONNIVE

Synonyms: wink

Related Words: brush (aside or off), condone, disregard, excuse, forgive, gloss (over), gloze (over), ignore, overlook, pardon, pass over, shrug off, tolerate

Near Antonyms: disapprove (of), frown (on or upon); deny, disallow, refuse

see all synonyms and antonyms

[+]more[-]hide

Rhymes with CONNIVE

alive, archive, Argive, arrive, back dive, beehive, contrive, crash-dive, deprive, derive, disk drive, endive, hard drive, high five, high-five, line drive, nosedive, ogive, revive, self-drive, skin-dive, skydive, survive, swan dive, take five, test-drive