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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But when the lights go off and consciousness winks out, another, deeper process goes to work.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
8 Aug. 2025 -
The table serving as a centerpiece winks to a fashion runway.—
Jennifer Weil,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
Verb
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That of the vampy, endlessly ambitious, and deliciously ruthless weather presenter Suzanne Stone, who plots to knock off her husband (Matt Dillon) in Gus Van Sant’s satirical romp.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
8 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
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And anybody who ignores these issues does so at their peril.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
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This willfully blinkered vision, or, more precisely, reëlection platform, ignores the cost in global opinion along with the moral and political fractures within Israel itself.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Matthew quickly schemes his way into Oliver’s orbit after that first performance, impressing and rankling the group of lackeys in his entourage at the same time.—
Eric Torres,
Pitchfork,
27 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Connives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connives. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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