as in connivance
Related Words
Relevance
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
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conniving
Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
Through Laura’s protective eyes, this striver who has gotten her claws into Daniel is conniving, hypersexual, possibly a thief, definitely a liar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Somehow, the upper hand never lingers long with Sally and Barnaby, drolly played by Gunning and Corden as a conniving Tweedledee and Tweedledum, loyal to no one and convinced their venality is justified by their father’s history of terrible parenting.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Each episode was guaranteed to feature a conniving scheme, a shocking betrayal, and some steamy-for-its-time smooching.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
This conniving force of darkness is pretty simple at a basic level.
—Vivian Tu, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
She's been acting since 1999, and her role as the conniving queen of Manhattan, Blair Waldorf, in 2007's Gossip Girl was what truly put her on the map.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
Through Laura’s protective eyes, this striver who has gotten her claws into Daniel is conniving, hypersexual, possibly a thief, definitely a liar.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
Somehow, the upper hand never lingers long with Sally and Barnaby, drolly played by Gunning and Corden as a conniving Tweedledee and Tweedledum, loyal to no one and convinced their venality is justified by their father’s history of terrible parenting.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Each episode was guaranteed to feature a conniving scheme, a shocking betrayal, and some steamy-for-its-time smooching.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
This conniving force of darkness is pretty simple at a basic level.
—Vivian Tu, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conniving
Noun
-
Or secretly despise his own connivance?—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
-
In addition, senior executives could be held personally liable when offences involve their consent, connivance or neglect.—
Jamie Hailstone,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
Maybe there’s some wink-winking, nudge-nudging going on, with one side or the other assuming an unspoken deal has been cut.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Either way, Sally and Craig both seem to confirm it, winking and nodding their way to acknowledging that something went down between them sometime in the recent past.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Pine works swiftly to gather information on Roper's deal and even forms an alliance with his boss's girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki) who is plotting her own escape.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
-
But Izzy Johnston is plotting a way for her Warriors to rise above all those squads.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Among the issues raised in the petition are allegations of juror misconduct, collusion between victims' attorneys and the government, and violations of due process rights.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
18 Dec. 2025
-
Once enacted, the legislation will require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress over the next five years a detailed assessment of the scale and nature of criminal collusion in Haiti.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Wrapped in a blanked on the sofa, binging reruns of The Oprah Show on YouTube and gleefully ignoring emails all morning is my idea of heaven.—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
-
On July 4, after Zane confessed to feeling guilty about ignoring more texts from his family members, the chatbot offered to help Zane craft a terse message to them.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Spagnuolo has also made a name for himself in the past by scheming up free rushers on blitzes, though those didn’t seem to hit nearly as often this year either.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
But her scheming soon spirals out of control, leaving her to face the consequences of her actions.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Allegations of state complicity were so severe that for years Modi was barred from entering the US.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Lowri Morgan, a working-class doctor, begins to question her complicity in this utopic world.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Or Cenote, the Yucatan Peninsula hole with a massive ramp above the hole that takes different strategies depending on the pin location.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Bond said the Hoosier Lottery would adopt the strategies other states employ, such as cross-promoting digital and retail tickets.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share