1
as in winks
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 plots
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connives
Verb
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Badlands might be a simple movie on the surface, but it's filled with little details, bits of lore, and cheeky winks many moviegoers appreciated.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
17 Feb. 2026 -
The hotel itself is a rhapsody in clean, modern design that subtly winks to the legion efforts behind it.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Various accusations were leveled against the owners of both groups during the course of the hearing, with two operators of Cesar Rainey Street being implicated in drug trafficking and arson plots separately.—
Paul Flahive,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Feb. 2026
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As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for.—
Kirby Adams,
Louisville Courier Journal,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Still, the disagreements in the region have been hard to ignores.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
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Connecticut currently regulates licensed cannabis with a level of intensity that ignores relative risk.—
Rino Ferrarese,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Joy Randolph, follows a desperate gallery owner (Portman) who schemes to sell a dead man as art at Art Basel in Miami.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
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Chalamet embodies Marty’s arrant showmanship with an evident joy in performance, exactly as Marty himself schemes not only shamelessly but jubilantly.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
19 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Connives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connives. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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