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

• conspiracy
• collusion
• connivance

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

Reports showed far-right supporters spreading conspiracy theories accusing Biden of complicity contributing to a spike in political threats and violence in late 2024. —Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025

Brooks Houck was found guilty of murder as a principal or accomplice and complicity to tampering with physical evidence in the Crystal Rogers murder trial. —Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 12 July 2025

Only when the man’s infidelity is finally revealed does the viewer awaken, as if confronted with their own unconscious complicity. —Ali Farahmand, IndieWire, 8 July 2025

This dissonance can trigger feelings of guilt, shame and complicity, akin to moral degradation experienced by soldiers unable to act in accordance with their conscience. —Yujia Zhu, Forbes.com, 8 July 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