connivance

or con·niv·ence

[kuh-nahy-vuh ns]

See more synonyms for connivance on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of conniving.
Law.
1. tacit encouragement or assent (without participation) to wrongdoing by another.
2. the consent by a person to a spouse's conduct, especially adultery, that is later made the basis of a divorce proceeding or other complaint.

Origin of connivance

1590–1600; earlier connivence (< F) < Latin connīventia. See connive, -ence, -ance

Related formsnon·con·niv·ance, nounnon·con·niv·ence, noun

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

Related Words for connivance

cabal, machination, subversion, conspiracy, scheme, intrigue

Examples from the Web for connivance

Contemporary Examples of connivance

On Tuesday, Russia called the upsurge in protests “connivance by Western politicians and European structures.”
Up to Speed: What’s Going on in Ukraine?
Nina Strochlic
February 19, 2014

Historical Examples of connivance

Detectives were watching her, and they, with the connivance of my father, took them from her.
The Grell Mystery
Frank Froest
Concealment was undoubtedly practised, and perhaps often with connivance.
A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland
Samuel Johnson
If they get into the Invalides it is owing to the connivance of the soldiers.
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 2 (of 6)
Hippolyte A. Taine
He would protest his innocence of all fraud or connivance at fraud.
Reginald Cruden
Talbot Baines Reed
The very accusation of connivance with the Medes drove him into their arms.
Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for connivance

connivance

noun

the act or fact of conniving
law the tacit encouragement of or assent to another's wrongdoing, esp (formerly) of the petitioner in a divorce suit to the respondent's adultery

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 connivance

the main modern form of connivence (q.v.).