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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of connive
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
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
See all Example Sentences for connive 
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
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
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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The internet went wild over former President George W. Bush's facial expressions — which included him raising his eyebrows, winking, and smirking — during the Monday, January 20 political event at the nation's capital.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
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But what starts as a winking nod at the challenges of parenting ends up a heavy-handed fable about the primacy of human values, with an emphasis on the idea that a gendered role is essential to becoming human.—
Elvia Wilk,
The Atlantic,
18 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
Thesaurus Entries Near connive
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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