1
as in winking
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 plotting
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
as in connivance
Related Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conniving
Verb
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Beneath us is a shimmering expanse of untouched snow like powdered sugar, winking in the spring sun; the odd shadow; the frozen Fedaia Lake far below.—
Toby Skinner,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Dec. 2024 -
Another technique is using Hall’s narration for all the little internal monologue bits, the little winking one-liners that Dexter never says out loud.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In addition, senior executives could be held personally liable when offences involve their consent, connivance or neglect.—
Jamie Hailstone,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
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The arrests were part of wide-ranging Establishment attacks on the new generation of pop stars in Britain at the time, done through connivance with informers and a hostile conservative media.—
Bill Wyman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
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FedEx — The stock gained more than 1% after Jefferies upgraded FedEx to buy from hold, saying investors are ignoring the cost-cutting efforts at the packing and shipping company that will continue to drive earnings growth regardless of the macroeconomic challenges.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
24 Mar. 2025
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Yet there’s no ignoring the fact that the Rockies would’ve loved to have Brito penciled in as their second baseman this year.—
Daniel R. Epstein,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But the biggest threats come from billionaire corporate land developers and scheming local government officials, eager to get their greedy hands on all that gorgeous acreage to build casinos, resort hotels, golf courses, and the like.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
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In two different filings in New York and Texas last month, Drake accused UMG – which distributes music for both Drake and Lamar – of scheming to popularize Lamar's diss track, which in turn allegedly harmed Drake and his businesses.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA TODAY,
21 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The airport denies any collusion with Uber or Lyft and maintains that all drivers, as independent contractors, must adhere to airport policies.—
Hadley Hitson,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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The rules were clear: no talk of pricing or anything that could be considered collusion.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
Noun
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This week, a dozen human rights and legal groups said that any country backing GHF could potentially be liable for complicity in war crimes.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
27 June 2025
-
Despite all the indignities to which it’s been subjected, the show closes with its most unsparing season yet, an indictment of societies where money trumps humanity that roots out all forms of complicity—especially our own.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Additionally, tariffs are putting a strain on companies, driving many sourcing teams to rethink their sourcing strategies.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
1 July 2025
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Brands must treat identity security as a central pillar of their enterprise strategy, not just a compliance requirement.—
Bojan Šimić,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
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In this original usage, it was associated with concepts like designs, ground plans, and sketches—flat forms to be realized as physical structures.—
Leo Kim,
WIRED,
5 Sep. 2023
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The possible dichotomy between ground plan and volumetric form has never been more apparent to me.—
Martin Filler,
The New York Review of Books,
22 May 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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