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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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
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LaBeouf plays a character named Clodio Pulcher, who plots against Cesar.—
Tommy McArdle,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The data analysis also ignores injuries and property destruction in non-fatal attacks as measures of political violence.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Sep. 2025
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But his mother constantly overshares, has no privacy filters on her accounts and ignores our requests to avoid posting our children’s names or our birthdays.—
Liz Weston,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 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 8 Oct. 2025.
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