as in connivance
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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
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Recent Examples of conniving
Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
That twist makes Frank both sympathetic and conniving, and Bale does a good job letting both aspects of his complex performance come through.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
The alluring but conniving Ciara (Dove Cameron) or that sexy brooder with the best wild locks ever, Oliver (Avan Jogia)?
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
Whitney, one of the most smarmy, conniving characters written into the entirety of the show, was one of Micay’s favorites to bring to life through the soundtrack.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 2 Mar. 2026
The actress played the conniving Abby Ewing on the CBS primetime soap opera for much of the '80s.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2026
Through his conniving, Heathcliff comes to own both properties.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
Her excellent work goes unappreciated, except when a conniving colleague, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), takes credit for it.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
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
Jackson is depicted as conniving and quick to use his wealth and fame to overwhelm the family.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
That twist makes Frank both sympathetic and conniving, and Bale does a good job letting both aspects of his complex performance come through.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026
The alluring but conniving Ciara (Dove Cameron) or that sexy brooder with the best wild locks ever, Oliver (Avan Jogia)?
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
Whitney, one of the most smarmy, conniving characters written into the entirety of the show, was one of Micay’s favorites to bring to life through the soundtrack.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 2 Mar. 2026
The actress played the conniving Abby Ewing on the CBS primetime soap opera for much of the '80s.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2026
Through his conniving, Heathcliff comes to own both properties.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
Her excellent work goes unappreciated, except when a conniving colleague, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), takes credit for it.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conniving
Noun
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Individuals and groups have often accused the U.S. government of denying their rights, and some of those accusations were irrefutable—as in the century between Appomattox and Selma, when the rights of Black Americans were denied throughout the South with the connivance of Washington.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
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But widespread disgust with the mayor’s mendacity and the connivance of eight City Council members is changing the political landscape.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The overexaggerated femininity, in Linda Cho’s frosting-on-an-Easter-cake costumes, is its own winking critique.—
Naveen Kumar,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
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Carlock and Means are masters at fourth-wall-breaking structure and winking, metatextual dialogue, and their ability to balance the goofiness of the series’ diversions with its straightforwardly heartwarming main narrative made each episode a breezy watch.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Stuart’s prose is gorgeous and his plotting strategic; nothing is lost.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
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Patrick Reed has also left the circuit and is plotting a return via his performances on the DP World Tour.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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French media giant Canal+ is facing an early test in Africa after its $2 billion acquisition of MultiChoice, with the South African pay TV group preparing to face antitrust regulators over decade-old allegations of collusion.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
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On April 28, Jordan went a step further, issuing letters accusing Burger, the Environmental Law Institute and Sher Edling of bias, conspiracy and collusion.—
Abrahm Lustgarten,
ProPublica,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors accused the trust, which convinced a federal district judge to order a temporary pause in construction, of ignoring claims that the project is needed to bolster national security.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
But three days after withdrawing the lawsuit, Florida sued CMS for a third time, accusing the federal agency of ignoring the state’s public records request related to CMS’ approval of the KidCare expansion.—
Daniel Chang,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The pedigree of the studio also shows in some of the vocal talent involved, which includes a hammy Michael Sheen as a scheming hotel owner and Brian Cox as Lorcan and Charlie’s kindly grandfather.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
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And did that excite you for the idea that June and Lydia could be scheming together?—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What about the complicity of the parents in these situations?—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Garcia joined our conversation with Parke in perfect Spanish, and the rapport and complicity between the two is evident.—
Darío Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at TVEL, stated that burning minor actinides in a commercial reactor is a long-term strategy rather than a single experiment.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
-
In a note on Friday morning, Jordan Rochester, head of FICC strategy for EMEA at Mizuho Bank, agreed that more intervention is likely imminent.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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