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
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of connive
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
Everyone paints me out to be this untrustworthy, conniving, manipulative, evil person.
—EW.com, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
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
Everyone paints me out to be this untrustworthy, conniving, manipulative, evil person.
—EW.com, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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The collapse of water security in Iran has been decades in the making and is rooted in a mania for megaprojects—dam building, deep wells, and water transfer schemes—that ignored the fundamentals of hydrology and ecological balance.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Pierre LeBrun’s viewpoint Arpon, no doubt the Hughes contract injects a fresh comparable into the discussion that neither the Canadiens nor the Hutson camp can ignore, though using comparables always seems to be in the eye of the beholder.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The vessel will plot an 18-day course from the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan to Felixstowe in the UK, accompanied by ice breakers.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
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Soon, Crusifino left The D'Angelo Family after being accused of plotting against the stable.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Camera flashes burst against the walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, framing Blade Runner–esque vistas of the flickering skyline, a winking reminder that New York City is always wide awake.—
Alex Catarinella,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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The other early stars then wink out quickly, leaving the giant black hole to its own devices.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To keep their win streak alive, Payton must scheme a nearly perfect game considering how the Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champions, have played to start the campaign.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Patella hasn’t been able to scheme Brown open in any of their games this season, and all signs pointed to Brown airing his grievances on social media.—
Hunter Simpson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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