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
Verb
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Loktev’s film chronicles the Russian government’s systematic crackdown on journalists in late 2021 and early 2022 as Vladimir Putin plots his invasion of Ukraine.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
13 Aug. 2025
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Harper is a surfer who plays by her own rules and even plots to break up her mother from her current fiancé.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For most companies and CEOs, the metrics would be preposterously out of reach — among them are an eight-fold increase in market valuation and a 30-fold increase in earnings — but that ignores Musk’s ability to marshal investor enthusiasm and pull off new product launches.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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But this framing ignores reality.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
16 Sep. 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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“Connives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connives. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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