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
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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
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Recent Examples of connive
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
The Nope actress stars as Zoe, a conniving thief who plots to steal an armored truck, in the heist-comedy The Pickup.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
That said, as great as Olivia Colman is in The Favourite, technically speaking Emma Stone’s character, the conniving Abigail, is the real main character, driving the action forward and worming her way into the Queen’s heart (and bed).
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 23 July 2025
Brown also gave a shoutout to Julianne Nicholson, who was recently Emmy nominated for her role as the conniving billionaire Sinatra.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
The Nope actress stars as Zoe, a conniving thief who plots to steal an armored truck, in the heist-comedy The Pickup.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
That said, as great as Olivia Colman is in The Favourite, technically speaking Emma Stone’s character, the conniving Abigail, is the real main character, driving the action forward and worming her way into the Queen’s heart (and bed).
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 23 July 2025
Brown also gave a shoutout to Julianne Nicholson, who was recently Emmy nominated for her role as the conniving billionaire Sinatra.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Since then, Moscow has expanded its drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, while seemingly ignoring his overtures for further dialogue to end the conflict.—
Matthew Bodner,
NBC news,
25 Sep. 2025
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Certainly the idea that having a bunch of wealth will prevent you from getting into heaven has been conveniently ignored by many adherents.—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, the game rights change is contingent on the larger ESPN-NFL deal passing Department of Justice review, which seems increasingly unlikely to come before the NFL plots its 2026 calendar.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
29 Sep. 2025
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Well, on one hand, Annie was already plotting against Jake and Alex.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Sep. 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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Game prediction Kansas City’s defense is clicking, and Steve Spanguolo is known for scheming against dynamic offenses.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
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Jimmy Sharp had filed the suit in December 2022, saying Diederich schemed to put him on a career-killing blacklist after taking over Sharp’s father’s role as head of 20th TV’s head of production earlier that year.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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