connive

verb

kə-ˈnīv How to pronounce connive (audio)
Definition of connivenext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of connive Produced by Guy Ritchie, MobLand stars Hardy as Harry Da Souza, the loyal fixer for the Harrigan crime family, which is led by powerful patriarch Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and his conniving wife, Maeve (Helen Mirren). — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026 Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026 Daemon is one of the most clever, cunning and conniving characters in House of the Dragon, who always seems to have the upper hand. — Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026 This latest trailer gives us our first glimpse of Theron’s Circe and Pattinson’s conniving Antinous, the latter intent on wooing Penelope and ruling over Ithaca in Odysseus’ stead, as well as snidely taunting Telemachus for his daddy issues. — ArsTechnica, 5 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
  1. ignore
  2. plot
  3. wink
  4. scheme
Verb
  • And while in some cases online classes can’t be ignored, the preference is that players attend in the classroom.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Republican Party has ignored the national debt every time Republican presidents have signed bills that have cut taxes on the wealthy.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • According to charging documents, the teens were allegedly plotting to rob Wright and displayed guns during a video call.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Which, again, is perfectly fine for parallel parking but not particularly helpful in trail course plotting.
    — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of plot
Verb
  • When an airless body, such as an asteroid, occults (or hides) a background star the star's light winks out in an instant, before suddenly reappearing.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The film’s mix of musical swagger, YA melodrama, and winking world-building hit a nerve, turning its core cast into fixtures for a generation that grew up streaming the soundtrack on a loop.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026
Definition of wink
Verb
  • When companies scheme to cut competition, costs go up, choices go down, our economy suffers, and every day Americans end up paying more for less.
    — Rob Bonta, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Shanahan schemed up multiple 100-yard games for Kendrick Bourne, and even journeyman Demarcus Robinson had 111 yards in the playoffs against the Eagles — neither receiver had a 100-yard game since 2022.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 29 July 2026
Definition of scheme

Browse Nearby Words

connivances
connive
connived
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on connive

Nglish: Translation of connive for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All