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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of connive
With Ryan O’Neal as the conniving fool who social-climbs and lies his way through war and peace, Kubrick matches perfectly paced, often-hilarious satire with a sanguine view of human selfishness and impermanence.
—
Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for connive
Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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The lawsuit alleges Parker ignored concerns raised by several teachers and staff members, including that the student may have had a gun in his possession hours before the shooting.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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In fact, they’d merely been habituated, the way a bird learns to ignore a rhino.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His original, undoctored manuscript even suggests that James might have plotted to have Elizabeth assassinated.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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Curves plotting model performance against size have begun flattening out.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Farther up, on Observatory Hill, tall cryptomeria trees were silhouetted in the darkening evening, and down in the valleys, lights winked on like reflections of the planets and stars appearing in the sky.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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James later shared the ad on social media with winking and tongue-sticking-out emojis; much of his audience, however, was not so amused, and one lifelong fan even sued.—
Robert Abitbol,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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No Warriors were involved, but Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — as well as Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — was arrested and charged with scheming to rig underground poker games.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
24 Oct. 2025
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There is no magic elixir to consistently scheme easy buckets in the final minutes of contests.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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