connive

verb

con·​nive kə-ˈnīv 

connived; conniving

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

The captain connived at the smuggling of goods aboard his ship.

b

: to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding

officials who connive with drug dealers

3

: conspire, intrigue

accused his opponents of conniving to defeat the proposal

conniver noun

Did you know?

Connive may not seem like a term that would raise many hackles, but it certainly raised those of Wilson Follett, a usage critic who lamented that the word "was undone during the Second World War, when restless spirits felt the need of a new synonym for plotting, bribing, spying, conspiring, engineering a coup, preparing a secret attack." Follett thought connive should only mean "to wink at" or "to pretend ignorance." Those senses are closer to the Latin ancestor of the word: connive comes from the Latin verb connivēre, which means "to close the eyes" and which is descended from -nivēre, a form akin to the Latin verb nictare, meaning "to wink." But many English speakers disagreed, and the "conspire" sense is now the word's most widely used meaning.

Synonyms

• wink

Examples of connive in a Sentence

the principal connived at all the school absences that were recorded on the day of the city's celebration of its Super Bowl victory

suspects that his coworkers are conniving to get him fired

Recent Examples on the Web

Its guilelessness is the complete opposite of the conniving, scheming, unscrupulousness that now dominates political discourse among the legacy media, politicians, and even America-last artists like Springsteen. —Armond White, National Review, 18 June 2025

Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving peasants who may or may not be their friends. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 9 June 2025

Trachtenberg aces Georgina as a conniving young woman who thrives off of drama and never lets anyone see her sweat. —Angela Andaloro, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025

Lar Park Lincoln, who is remembered as the conniving Linda Fairgate on CBS’ Knots Landing, died from undisclosed causes on April 22. —Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for connive

• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive
• drive
• five

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Kids Definition

connive

verb

con·​nive kə-ˈnīv 

connived; conniving

: to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding

conniver noun

Legal Definition

connive

transitive verb

con·​nive kə-ˈnīv 

connived; conniving

: to assent knowingly and wrongfully without opposition to another's wrongdoing

specifically : to knowingly consent to a spouse's marital misconduct and especially to adultery

Etymology

Latin con(n)ivere to close one's eyes, knowingly overlook something