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
James Grebey, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2025
Just like in the novel, the new adaptation features Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) as the show's conniving producer and Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo) as the flashy host.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Charlie Cale is looking for a new home to sniff out the bulls--- of those conniving criminals.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 13 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
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
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
Tim Robbins stars as a simple, entry-level employee at a big New York corporation who is promoted to CEO by a conniving member of the board of directors (Paul Newman), as part of a strategic attempt to tank the stock price following the old CEO’s suicide.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2025
Just like in the novel, the new adaptation features Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) as the show's conniving producer and Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo) as the flashy host.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Charlie Cale is looking for a new home to sniff out the bulls--- of those conniving criminals.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 13 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
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
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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
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With the connivance of Congress, President Trump has been stealing congressional power about taxing, spending and the use of military force to punish his enemies at universities, to extort foreign governments and to kill people on the high seas with impunity.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Nov. 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
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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
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But the city is plotting a decisive — if a little uneven — course toward a carbon-free future.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Lowe's merchandising and marketing teams have started plotting out a 12-month plan of items that the company bets could become trending products, with about three to five items debuting each quarter, Wilson said.—
Melissa Repko,
CNBC,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In a statement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel connected the alleged collusion to energy prices in the state.—
Rachel Frazin,
The Hill,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The center dismissed the reports as fabricated and misleading and said Soltani, who was arrested on January 8 during the height of the protests, had been charged with assembly and collusion against national internal security, as well as engaging in propaganda activities against the system.—
Tucker Reals,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And ignoring that fact is now no longer a laughing matter.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Parents react in different ways, from telling their potty-mouthed offspring to stop, to explaining why this is a bad habit, to ignoring the behavior, or even enforcing consequences as a punishment.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After scheming his way through training by an ever-growing web of lies that included a cancer treatment, Seth tried to redeem himself by taking a bullet to save Nolan’s (Nathan Fillion) life at the cost of his lower leg, which was shattered and later amputated.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
20 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
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By the mid-level bureaucrat who finally decides the cost of complicity is too high.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Veiel, conducting a forensic examination of Riefenstahl’s archives and other sources, picks apart the myth the filmmaker propagated after World War II that absolved herself of any complicity in Nazi atrocities.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The future performance of any investment or wealth management strategy, including those recommended by us, may not be profitable or suitable or prove successful.—
Heather L. Locus,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Riva is focused on refining Saks’ and Neiman’s buying strategy including assortment selection, category performance, sell-through and replenishment.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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