complicity

[ kuhm-plis-i-tee ]

/ kəmˈplɪs ɪ ti /

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noun, plural com·plic·i·ties.

the state of being an accomplice; partnership or involvement in wrongdoing: complicity in a crime.

Nearby words

Origin of complicity

1650–60; < Late Latin complic-, stem of complex complice + -ity

SYNONYMS FOR complicity

collusion, intrigue, implication, connivance.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR complicity ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formscom·plic·i·tous, adjectivenon·com·plic·i·ty, noun, plural non·com·plic·i·ties.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for complicity

We were never asked to confront our own complicity as sponsors of the game.
How the Media Failed to Nail the NFL|Steve Almond|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What sports pundits rarely bother to do is confront themselves, or their audiences, about their complicity in this pattern.
Hey NFL Fans: Ray Rice Isn’t the Problem. You Are.|Steve Almond|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a site devoted to ending all privacy and putting everything in public view, with our complicity and cooperation.
You Can’t Have Facebook’s Best Privacy Policy|Dennis Kneale|May 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For his complicity Murmelstein has forever been branded a traitor, but for him the decision was a no-brainer.
Confessions of a Death Camp Collaborator: Claude Lanzmann’s ‘The Last of the Unjust’|Jimmy So|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If Pakistani complicity in the program was exposed, the theory went, why not at least try to downplay its negative fallout.
U.S. Drone Program Needs to Be Accompanied by Hard Facts on Civilian Deaths|Daniel Klaidman|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The arrest of at least one person, a woman, suspected of complicity in the crime may occur at any moment.
The Bartlett Mystery|Louis Tracy
Next, he was sent to Sarah Hughson to persuade her to accuse her father and mother of complicity in the conspiracy.
History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1|George W. Williams
Yet in that culinary maelstrom even Snaffle disowned either responsibility or complicity.
Lanier of the Cavalry|Charles King
Those words meant that however great his horror of it all, Eustace could not break loose from that complicity of silence.
Penelope Brandling|Vernon Lee
Lagardere, watching him while they fought, hated his adversary for his own sake apart from his complicity in the crime of Caylus.
The Duke's Motto|Justin Huntly McCarthy

British Dictionary definitions for complicity

complicity

/ (kəmˈplɪsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the fact or condition of being an accomplice, esp in a criminal act

a less common word for complexity

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for complicity

complicity

1650s, from French complicité, from Old French complice "accomplice, comrade, companion" (14c.), from Late Latin complicem, accusative of complex "partner, confederate," from Latin complicare "to fold together" (see complicate; also cf. accomplice).

complicity

noun, plural com·plic·i·ties.

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Nearby words

Origin of complicity

Examples from the Web for complicity

complicity

noun plural -ties

complicity