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

Court records show Tucker was indicted in 2018 on counts of complicity to commit arson and insurance fraud, but was ultimately acquitted of those charges at trial. —Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 30 Dec. 2024

As an American citizen my obligations force an undeniable complicity. —News Desk, Artforum, 26 Dec. 2024

Also, the public prosecutor dropped the charge of complicity in favor of a lower charge of association with a terrorist enterprise against the two young men accused of providing the logistical support to the killer. —Tom Nouvian and Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024

The Assad regime survived on violence and complicity. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

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

Kids Definition

complicity

noun

com·​plic·​i·​ty kəm-ˈplis-ət-ē 

plural complicities

: association or participation in a wrongful act