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
Her excellent work goes unappreciated, except when a conniving colleague, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), takes credit for it.
—
Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 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, 19 Jan. 2026
Through Laura’s protective eyes, this striver who has gotten her claws into Daniel is conniving, hypersexual, possibly a thief, definitely a liar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 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, 19 Jan. 2026
Through Laura’s protective eyes, this striver who has gotten her claws into Daniel is conniving, hypersexual, possibly a thief, definitely a liar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Some designers find success ignoring social media altogether.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
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However, accuracy ignores the other effects of bombs—especially the blast radius.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The very next day, Fluker’s fellow gang members, one of whom was in prison at the time, began to text each other to plot revenge, according to the criminal complaint.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2026
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Read retrieved Hunter and brought her back to Sacramento where the pair plotted the near-fatal attack.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sartorial outerwear crafted from archival fabrics mingled with pieces that winked to utility and workwear, with a few styles looking to balance these two souls in a single design, such as double wool hooded capes and coats.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
2 Mar. 2026
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With plenty of palace intrigue and a winking Favourite-esque sense of humor, The Serpent Queen is far from a stuffy costume drama.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These AIs have shown behaviors as varied as deception and blackmail, to scheming and cheating by hacking software.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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Teams clearly schemed to exploit him in the pick-and-roll.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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