Synonyms of conniving

conniving 1 of 2

noun

as in connivance

Related Words

• connivance
• collusion
• complicity
• strategy
• ground plan
• cabal
• manipulation
• subterfuge
• stratagem
• racket
• system
• conspiration
• confederacy
• program
• trickery
• maneuver
• gimmick
• contrivance
• dodge
• game
• ring
• cover-up
• machination
• trick
• draft
• intrigue
• artifice
• frame-up
• conspiracy
• counterplot
• scheme
• counterconspiracy
• plot
• design

conniving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of connive

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

• winking
• ignoring
• tolerating
• forgiving
• disregarding
• condoning
• overlooking
• excusing
• brushing (aside or off)
• passing over
• pardoning
• glossing (over)
• shrugging off
• glozing (over)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• denying
• refusing
• frowning (on or upon)
• disapproving (of)
• disallowing

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

• plotting
• scheming
• conspiring
• intriguing
• planning
• colluding
• contriving
• machinating
• devising
• hatching
• manipulating
• engineering
• compassing
• concocting
• putting up
• maneuvering
• cooking (up)
• jockeying
• designing
• counterplotting
• brewing
• shaping
• mapping
• framing
• laying out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of conniving

Noun

The problem was Grossbart, whose conniving seemed to corroborate the worst stereotypes about the Jewish people — and so soon after the Shoah. — Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025

Verb

Combative, conniving, and always looking out for herself, Kathleen unexpectedly returns to town after a long absence, sending Louisa’s life into chaos. — Michael Schneider, Variety, 2 Nov. 2026

Gizelle, who has been stirring the pot and playing producer for everyone on the trip, keeps up her conniving ways by sitting down all the RHOP ladies except for Candiace during their Potomac retrospective moment at the party. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026

The conniving Cardinal Richelieu is the central villain in this 1993 action/comedy adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic 1844 novel. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026

Locklear played the conniving Amanda Woodward from 1993 through the end of the series’ seven-season run, earning four Golden Globe nominations in the process. — Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 2026

Also, the conniving acts of communication and coordination don’t have to work in real-time. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

Daemon is one of the most clever, cunning and conniving characters in House of the Dragon, who always seems to have the upper hand. — Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026