connive
verb
con·nive
| \ kə-ˈnīv
\
\
connived;
conniving
Definition of connive
1
: to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose
The government connived in the rebels' military buildup.
2a
: 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
Keep scrolling for more
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
And Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma has a grand old time as Piety Breakspear (gah, these character names are sublime!), the conniving wife to a critch-friendly politician (Jared Harris). — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, "Amazon's Carnival Row is a big-budget nerd fantasy," 15 Aug. 2019 Yet as the documentary about the hard-hitting TV newsman soon makes clear, those are the four words no crooked politician or conniving businessperson ever wanted to hear. — Scott Craven, azcentral, "Riveting 'Mike Wallace Is Here' penetrates deep into the psyche of a great journalist," 6 Aug. 2019 In the movie, Bradley would play a con man who teams up with an even-more-conniving psychiatrist to run scams. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Bradley Cooper Might Be Taking Over a Role That Leonardo DiCaprio Was Supposed to Play," 15 June 2019 Three-time Oscar-winner Streep has done some of the best work of her career as a grieving, conniving mother. — Hal Boedeker, orlandosentinel.com, "Apollo 11 specials, Meryl Streep: Out of this world," 19 July 2019 Scar gets a different vibe Scar has always been a tricky, conniving villain, prone to double-crossing friends and foes alike. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "Here's How the New Lion King Is Different From the Original," 17 July 2019 As in most organizations, some connived to thwart office rivals and accumulate resources. — Brandon R. Brown, Smithsonian, "Apollo Engineers Discuss What It Took to Land on the Moon," 12 July 2019 The production hired the white actor Jonathan Pryce to reprise his turn as the Engineer (a conniving Eurasian pimp), setting off protests that nearly derailed the show’s Broadway plans. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "For San Diego-raised actor Jackie Nguyen, ‘Miss Saigon’ has been a major part of her art and life," 30 June 2019 The only thing slicker than those conniving aliens is Thompson’s glossy hair. — Jennifer Ford, Essence, "Tessa Thompson's Hairstyles Are Out Of This World," 20 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'connive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for connive
connive
verb
English Language Learners Definition of connive
disapproving
: to secretly help someone do something dishonest or illegal
See the full definition for connive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
connive
transitive verb
con·nive
| \ kə-ˈnīv
\
\
connived;
conniving
Legal Definition of connive
: 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
Keep scrolling for more