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
Through his conniving, Heathcliff comes to own both properties.
—
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for connive
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
-
The Europeans are shrugging off these comments, if not ignoring them entirely.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Carla says her parents had no idea who might be behind the robberies and were surprised the thieves had ignored the millions of dollars’ worth of paintings.—
Jennifer Cannon,
Vanity Fair,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Baiamonte also plotted unique calls for every Heat player.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
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One tells a story of an A-list actress, aided by some of the biggest celebrities in the world who include husband Ryan Reynolds and friend Taylor Swift, plotting to seize control of a director’s passion project.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The installation is a winking reference to the Turing test, the 1950 thought experiment about whether a machine can credibly imitate a person.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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The Belgian was a throwback in the most charming sense; a grinning, winking, slaloming magician who could earn the undying trust of even the most collectivist coach.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The other is the tale of an A-list actress, aided by some of the biggest celebrities in the world who include husband Ryan Reynolds and friend Taylor Swift, scheming to rip away control of a director’s passion project and destroy his reputation.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
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Former City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown’s daughter admitted to scheming with her family to use fake documents and steal pandemic relief money from the federal government.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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