1
as in to ignore
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
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2
as in to plot
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 connive
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, 23 Dec. 2024
Among the hopefuls with their sights set on the property is the conniving Margo, who lives on the Morgans' block.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
The behind-the-scenes conniving of the senators in the first film gets transposed onto Denzel Washington’s Macrinus and Tim McInnerny’s Thraex.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
And though Macrinus—brilliant, conniving, vain—is nothing like the characters Denzel played earlier in his career, this performance calls back to his breezy charm in movies like Carl Franklin’s Out of Time (2003) and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), or Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991).
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for connive 
James Grebey, Vulture, 23 Dec. 2024
Among the hopefuls with their sights set on the property is the conniving Margo, who lives on the Morgans' block.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
The behind-the-scenes conniving of the senators in the first film gets transposed onto Denzel Washington’s Macrinus and Tim McInnerny’s Thraex.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
And though Macrinus—brilliant, conniving, vain—is nothing like the characters Denzel played earlier in his career, this performance calls back to his breezy charm in movies like Carl Franklin’s Out of Time (2003) and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), or Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991).
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Prison staff had ignored warning signs of his suicide, the lawsuit claims.—
Thomas C. Zambito,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
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Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
WIRED,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Used to ruthlessly controlling everything and everyone around him whatever the cost, Marcos is also secretly plotting a big decision on his daughter’s behalf.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2025
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The 28-year-old Houston native was taken into custody for conspiring with ISIS web designers to plot a mass casualty attack against a Houston Jewish installation.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Between the lines: The department's name is a winking reference to Musk's joke cryptocurrency Dogecoin.—
Ivana Saric,
Axios,
7 Feb. 2025
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Bush, 78, was seen containing laughter, raising his eyebrows and winking throughout the event.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Spags did a masterful job of scheming against Buffalo’s fourth-and-short plays no matter what anyone thinks of that review, but the Eagles’ tush-push is in a category by itself.—
Hank Gola,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2025
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Smith has said politics played no part in his decisions and the evidence his team gathered was sufficient for Trump to have been convicted at trial on charges of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.—
Stephen Groves,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near connive
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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