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
Relevance
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
-
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
-
In addition, senior executives could be held personally liable when offences involve their consent, connivance or neglect.—
Jamie Hailstone,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
On the second factor, the Arbitrator found that the clubs were not aware that they were being invited to participate in collusion.—
Chris Deubert,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
-
Funny enough, those negotiations are part of a fascinating document just published this week by Pablo Torre regarding collusion charges levied against the NFL by the NFL Players Association.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
This marks a globalization of the strategy and represents of the company’s first major advertising tie-ups with any European entity.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
1 July 2025
-
The platform offers SMBs a wide range of capabilities—from developing strategies in sales, marketing, and finance, to predictive analytics, industry-specific key performance indicators, and real-time economic scenario comparisons.—
Sonia Osorio,
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
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.
Cite this Entry
“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share