connive

verb

con·​nive kə-ˈnīv How to pronounce connive (audio)
connived; conniving

intransitive verb

1
: to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose
The government connived in the rebels' military buildup.
2
a
: to be indulgent or in secret sympathy : wink
The captain connived at the smuggling of goods aboard his ship.
b
: to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding
officials who connive with drug dealers
3
: conspire, intrigue
accused his opponents of conniving to defeat the proposal
conniver noun

Did you know?

Connive may not seem like a term that would raise many hackles, but it certainly raised those of Wilson Follett, a usage critic who lamented that the word "was undone during the Second World War, when restless spirits felt the need of a new synonym for plotting, bribing, spying, conspiring, engineering a coup, preparing a secret attack." Follett thought connive should only mean "to wink at" or "to pretend ignorance." Those senses are closer to the Latin ancestor of the word: connive comes from the Latin verb connivēre, which means "to close the eyes" and which is descended from -nivēre, a form akin to the Latin verb nictare, meaning "to wink." But many English speakers disagreed, and the "conspire" sense is now the word's most widely used meaning.

Examples of connive in a Sentence

the principal connived at all the school absences that were recorded on the day of the city's celebration of its Super Bowl victory suspects that his coworkers are conniving to get him fired
Recent Examples on the Web Julianne Moore is a countess conniving her way to the top! Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 1 Feb. 2024 But when Regina takes an interest in Cady — albeit a possibly conniving one — and invites her to join them for lunch, Janis and Damian see it as an opportunity to get some dirt on the mean girls. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2024 The rich and conniving Jewish bankers controlling money, politicians, and the media became the rich and conniving Zionists. Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023 Meanwhile, a conniving restaurateur, Doc Hopper, intends to make Kermit the mascot for his fried frog legs franchise by any means necessary. Devin Nealy, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 Last week, on X, formerly Twitter, Ramaswamy listed many of the untruthful, deceptive, and conniving media headlines in years. Christopher Tremoglie, Washington Examiner, 11 Jan. 2024 Even their conniving delivery driver, Eve, can't figure out the recipe. Kelsey Houston-Edwards, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024 Cady navigates the elite girls club led by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika Vandanapu) after moving from Kenya to a Chicago suburb and struggling to survive her new high school jungle. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Jan. 2024 Some of the board’s six members found Altman manipulative and conniving—qualities common among tech C.E.O.s but rankling to board members who had backgrounds in academia or in nonprofits. Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'connive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French or Latin; French conniver, from Latin conivēre, connivēre to close the eyes, connive, from com- + -nivēre (akin to nictare to wink); akin to Old English & Old High German hnīgan to bow

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of connive was in 1601

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Dictionary Entries Near connive

Cite this Entry

“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/connive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

connive

verb
con·​nive kə-ˈnīv How to pronounce connive (audio)
connived; conniving
: to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding
conniver noun

Legal Definition

connive

transitive verb
con·​nive kə-ˈnīv How to pronounce connive (audio)
connived; conniving
: to assent knowingly and wrongfully without opposition to another's wrongdoing
specifically : to knowingly consent to a spouse's marital misconduct and especially to adultery
Etymology

Latin con(n)ivere to close one's eyes, knowingly overlook something

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