connive
Americanverb (used without object)
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connives,
present (3rd person singular)
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connived,
past participle, past
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conniving
present participle
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to cooperate secretly; conspire (often followed bywith ).
They connived to take over the business.
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to avoid noticing something that one is expected to oppose or condemn; give aid to wrongdoing by forbearing to act or speak (usually followed byat ).
The policeman connived at traffic violations.
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to be indulgent toward something others oppose or criticize (usually followed byat ).
to connive at childlike exaggerations.
verb
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to plot together, esp secretly; conspire
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(foll by at) law to give assent or encouragement (to the commission of a wrong)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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connivesimple
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connivessimple
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have connivedperfect
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has connivedperfect
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am connivingprogressive
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are connivingprogressive
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is connivingprogressive
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have been connivingperfect progressive
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has been connivingperfect progressive
Past
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connivedsimple
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had connivedperfect
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was connivingprogressive
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were connivingprogressive
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had been connivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of connive
1595–1605; (< French conniver ) < Latin co ( n ) nīvēre to close the eyes in sleep, turn a blind eye, equivalent to con- con- + -nīvēre, akin to nictāre to blink ( cf. nictitate)
Explanation
To connive is to plan or plot to do something illegal or wrong. Conniving is considered dishonest and cowardly. If someone accuses you of conniving, that's definitely not a compliment. Conniving usually occurs in secret, and people who connive are up to no good. Criminals planning a bank robbery are conniving. Crooked politicians looking for a bribe are conniving. Villains connive, and conniving is associated with conspiracies and dishonesty. The opposite of conniving is being honest and straightforward.
Vocabulary lists containing connive
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Upon arrival, the men connive to set up shop at a rest house for travelers, despite having not made reservations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
It stars Brian Cox as the Roy family patriarch and Jeremy Strong as one of his children, who connive to succeed their father as the company’s leader.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
Actually, she doesn't and she will manipulate, exploit and connive anyone without giving it a second thought if it serves her best interests.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2022
Anaheim has no such duty, and the First Amendment has no exemption allowing communities to connive at impeding speech that does not “reflect” the community’s values.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2021
The Prussians threatened with the galleys whosoever should connive at the flight, as they called it, of these volunteers, whether by giving them money, or supplying them with guides, or by any other means.
From The Pl?biscite or, A Miller's Story of the War by Alexandre Chatrian
A woman connives to make her husband jealous when his secretive actions lead her to believe him unfaithful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
It’s a con-artist film — poor family connives its way into jobs serving a younger, wealthy quartet — and the con rides an elevator from comically to tragically desperate.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2020
“The trade connives at its own irrelevance. This lifestyle stuff, the preponderance of comment over disclosure. If we aren’t telling people things that make them go, ‘Crikey’, what’s the point?”
From The Guardian ● Oct. 15, 2016
To wrap things up: House connives to get Park to disobey an order he knows is wrong so that she will learn to stand up for herself.
From Time ● Nov. 1, 2011
Liszt connives at the suicide, but with Chopin it is a murder.
From Plays, Acting and Music A Book Of Theory by Arthur Symons
Hoover and Davis connived at an estimate that would meet the guarantee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Murdaugh’s lawyers contend that Hill connived to have a juror removed—the so-called Egg Lady—because Hill feared she wasn’t inclined to convict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were conceived, convinced, connived, inconvenienced and invoiced.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2022
But for years she waylaid me on the street to complain and raised that incident at meetings to prove the editors connived with the paid Coop staff to prevent pro-democracy voices from being heard.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
Bono had, I ascertained, connived to secrete them when we had removed to this house from the town; having no use for them upon his exile, he had left them for me.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Netflix has crafted a conniving production model that benefits the indiscriminate philistines in charge.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
The couple's daughter, Athena, who appeared via video-link from the US, told the court her father was a "jealous, conniving, narcissistic villain".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
SantaCon’s conniving leader gives New Yorkers another reason to hate the yearly bar crawl.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
At a Saturday briefing for high ranking military officers first reported by the Journal, Gen. Zhang was accused of everything from conniving at corruption with family members to spilling nuclear secrets to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
The studio door opened without a sound, like it was conniving with her.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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