complicity

noun

com·​plic·​i·​ty kəm-ˈpli-s(ə-)tē 

plural complicities

1

: association or participation in or as if in a wrongful act

arrested for complicity in the crime

2

: an instance of complicity

The two share a complicity she calls fraternal.

—Joan Dupont

Synonyms

• collusion
• connivance
• conspiracy

Examples of complicity in a Sentence

There's no proof of her complicity in the murder.

He acted with his brother's complicity.

Recent Examples on the Web

Bucky’s situation invited us to talk about the relationship between intention and complicity in our moral judgments. —James Calvin Davis, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025

Emily Watson plays the manipulative mother superior who slips Bill an envelope of cash to buy his complicity. —Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2025

There was so much at play beyond just Israel versus Hamas, including U.S. support and complicity, Israel’s history of tension with neighboring countries, and more. —The Learning Network, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025

Since World War II, the country has had a tricky time confronting the question of what to do about the complicity of those who came before. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French complicité, borrowed from New Latin complicitāt-, complicitās, formed from Late Latin complic-, complex "fellow-participant, partner, accomplice" and Latin -itāt-, -itās -ity, probably after Late Latin duplicitās duplicity — more at complice

Note: The formation of the word is peculiar in that Latin -itāt-, -itās, along with its descendants and borrowings, is rarely added to nouns. Outside of the dictionaries of Thomas Blount and Elisha Coles, complicity is rare to non-existent in English text before the later eighteenth century, when its adoption was probably stimulated by French complicité.

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for complicity

• basicity
• chronicity
• cyclicity
• duplicity
• ethnicity
• facticity
• felicity
• helicity
• plasticity
• publicity
• rusticity
• simplicity

Kids Definition

complicity

noun

com·​plic·​i·​ty kəm-ˈplis-ət-ē 

plural complicities

: association or participation in a wrongful act