Synonyms of connive

connive

verb

kə-ˈnīv 

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

• ignore
• wink
• tolerate
• forgive
• disregard
• excuse
• condone
• overlook
• pass over
• pardon
• gloss (over)
• brush (aside or off)
• shrug off
• gloze (over)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• refuse
• deny
• disapprove (of)
• frown (on or upon)
• disallow

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

• plot
• scheme
• conspire
• contrive
• collude
• plan
• intrigue
• machinate
• devise
• compass
• concoct
• put up
• manipulate
• hatch
• engineer
• counterplot
• maneuver
• design
• cook (up)
• shape
• brew
• map
• lay out
• jockey
• frame

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of connive

No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

Helen of Troy, whose abduction started the Trojan war, and her sister Clytemnestra, who connives to murder her husband Agamemnon. — Jim Beckerman, USA Today, 16 July 2026

Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 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, 22 June 2026

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