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
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
Featuring a brand new cast of reality television’s best and most conniving, the U.S. version of Peacock’s hit game show returns on January 9 for more challenges, trickery, and impeccable outfits from host Cumming.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 23 Nov. 2024
Every fight increased his sway as a symbol of populist dissent in Rome, while bringing him closer to his destiny to face Joaquin Phoenix’s treacherous, conniving Commodus in the arena.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Glenn Close plays the conniving mom who comes back into the siblings' lives and Brendan Fraser chews all the scenery as a corrupt cop.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for connive 
Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
Featuring a brand new cast of reality television’s best and most conniving, the U.S. version of Peacock’s hit game show returns on January 9 for more challenges, trickery, and impeccable outfits from host Cumming.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 23 Nov. 2024
Every fight increased his sway as a symbol of populist dissent in Rome, while bringing him closer to his destiny to face Joaquin Phoenix’s treacherous, conniving Commodus in the arena.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Glenn Close plays the conniving mom who comes back into the siblings' lives and Brendan Fraser chews all the scenery as a corrupt cop.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Modeste says ignoring mental health will no longer cut it, so parents should have open and honest discussions about it.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
24 Jan. 2025
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Peter, on the other hand, is approaching it in a very old fashioned, very masculine, frankly, way of burying it, ignoring it, and that doesn’t often work.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Roseanne Barr, who was fired by Disney from her titular ABC show in 2018 at the height of its ratings prowess, is plotting a TV comeback.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
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Jacinto planned to take in the Hermès and Sacai shows in Paris before plotting his next steps.—
Joelle Diderich,
WWD,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Like many of Tissot’s artworks, the scene is ambiguous but invites a winking interpretation.—
Brigit Katz,
Smithsonian Magazine,
15 Jan. 2025
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Dafoe, as well as Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin as family friends who take in Ellen, bring a winking campiness to the movie, breathing life into the proceedings, while Simon McBurney devilishly goes for broke as the count’s fixer.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Kudos on firing the assistant coaches as scape goats for the humiliating mistake of letting Xavier Mckinney walk away into an All-Pro season and forcing them to scheme around an unreliable Banks.—
Dan Duggan,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
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Meanwhile, Dougherty Valley hit timely shots and schemed Stokes into favorable one-on-one matchups.—
Nathan Canilao,
The Mercury News,
18 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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