connive

verb

con·nive kə-ˈnīv How to pronounce connive (audio)

connived; conniving

intransitive verb

: to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose

The government connived in the rebels' military buildup.

: to be indulgent or in secret sympathy : wink

The captain connived at the smuggling of goods aboard his ship.

: to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding

officials who connive with drug dealers

: conspire, intrigue

accused his opponents of conniving to defeat the proposal

conniver noun

Did you know?

Connive may not seem like a troublesome term, but it was to 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 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.

Example Sentences

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 Foremost among the opera’s ironies is Agrippina herself (Joyce DiDonato), domineering and conniving throughout the span of this opera, but in real life destined, in the years that would follow, to be hoist by her own petard.

James Romm, The New York Review of Books, 1 Mar. 2020 Depictions of female candidates as calculating or conniving are political mainstays.

Alexander Burns, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2020 Actor Mehcad Brooks recently shook up our worlds in the recent Tyler Perry Netflix drama A Fall From Grace as the outwardly charming yet conniving heartthrob Shannon.

Jasmine Grant, Essence, 28 Jan. 2020 The Musical: The Series, Grabeel doesn't miss a beat from his old character Ryan Evans, Sharpay Evans' (Ashley Tisdale) enthusiastic, conniving twin brother.

Heran Mamo, Billboard, 27 Dec. 2019 An evil lair for out-of-touch bureaucrats, striving and conniving politicos and entitled elites.

Joe Heim, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2019 At the end of You season two, fans discovered that Love Quinn was (almost) as conniving, manipulative, and murderous as her lover Joe Goldberg, (sometimes known as Will Bettleheim).

Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, 9 Jan. 2020 Ultimately she was fired from the show but never lost her cunning, conniving and treacherously deceitful ways.

Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, 29 Jan. 2018 By contrast, there is no evidence to support the president’s vague suggestion that Ukraine, not Russia, might be responsible for the hacking, or that CrowdStrike somehow connived in it.

Scott Shane, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2019 See More

单词	conniver
释义	connive verb con·nive kə-ˈnīv 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 troublesome term, but it was to 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 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. Synonyms wink See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences 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 Foremost among the opera’s ironies is Agrippina herself (Joyce DiDonato), domineering and conniving throughout the span of this opera, but in real life destined, in the years that would follow, to be hoist by her own petard. James Romm, The New York Review of Books, 1 Mar. 2020 Depictions of female candidates as calculating or conniving are political mainstays. Alexander Burns, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2020 Actor Mehcad Brooks recently shook up our worlds in the recent Tyler Perry Netflix drama A Fall From Grace as the outwardly charming yet conniving heartthrob Shannon. Jasmine Grant, Essence, 28 Jan. 2020 The Musical: The Series, Grabeel doesn't miss a beat from his old character Ryan Evans, Sharpay Evans' (Ashley Tisdale) enthusiastic, conniving twin brother. Heran Mamo, Billboard, 27 Dec. 2019 An evil lair for out-of-touch bureaucrats, striving and conniving politicos and entitled elites. Joe Heim, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2019 At the end of You season two, fans discovered that Love Quinn was (almost) as conniving, manipulative, and murderous as her lover Joe Goldberg, (sometimes known as Will Bettleheim). Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, 9 Jan. 2020 Ultimately she was fired from the show but never lost her cunning, conniving and treacherously deceitful ways. Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, 29 Jan. 2018 By contrast, there is no evidence to support the president’s vague suggestion that Ukraine, not Russia, might be responsible for the hacking, or that CrowdStrike somehow connived in it. Scott Shane, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2019 See More 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 Legal Definition connive transitive verb con·nive kə-ˈnīv 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 History and Etymology for connive Latin con(n)ivere to close one's eyes, knowingly overlook something conniver noun as in schemer Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance schemer plotter egotist egoist self-seeker machinator chameleon opportunist weathercock timeserver chancer acrobat trimmer temporizer
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connive

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Legal Definition

transitive verb

noun