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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
On Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg played Georgina Sparks, a conniving socialite who repeatedly popped up during the show’s six-season run to wreak havoc on the other Upper East Siders.
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Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2025
Clueless owner allows manipulative, conniving GM to convince him, in the face of mountains of contrary evidence, that the head coach is the problem.
—Jeff Howe, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Daemon Targaryen Former Doctor Who, Matt Smith, cuts a charismatic and conniving figure as Daemon Targaryen.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 28 Dec. 2024
Sweeney writes, directs, and stars in the film as Dennis, a conniving Portland twink who strikes up a bromance with Dylan O’Brien after infiltrating a support group for people who’ve lost their twin siblings.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2025
Clueless owner allows manipulative, conniving GM to convince him, in the face of mountains of contrary evidence, that the head coach is the problem.
—Jeff Howe, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Daemon Targaryen Former Doctor Who, Matt Smith, cuts a charismatic and conniving figure as Daemon Targaryen.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 28 Dec. 2024
Sweeney writes, directs, and stars in the film as Dennis, a conniving Portland twink who strikes up a bromance with Dylan O’Brien after infiltrating a support group for people who’ve lost their twin siblings.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for connive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for connive
Verb
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Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year.—
Brenda Stolyar,
Wired News,
6 Apr. 2025
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Pedro Pascal isn't ignoring an obvious parallel between himself and his character in the HBO series The Last of Us.—
Arabella Hau,
People.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Less than a month into the job, Trump and the Japanese Prime Minister plotted their response to a North Korean missile launch in the open-air patio of Mar a Lago, photos of which ended up on Facebook.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Mar. 2025
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Charity workers had plotted the heights and weights of Daasanach children on World Health Organization charts—the same ones our pediatrician used to monitor my daughter’s growth—and determined that more than two-thirds of the kids were malnourished.—
Manvir Singh,
The New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The space is filled with subtle details linking to the brand’s history, such as a bicolor marble flooring that winks to Divas’ shape, which transitions into another puzzle-like geometric pattern inspired by a Bulgari necklace from the ‘70s unearthed in the brand’s archive.—
Sandra Salibian,
WWD,
24 Mar. 2025
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Players can now hire agents and get paid for their NIL—wink, wink—and, come next academic year, many Division I college basketball players are expected to receive revenue-sharing payments directly from their schools.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Robert Trebor, who portrayed the serial killer known as the Son of Sam in a CBS telefilm and the scheming merchant Salmoneus on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its sister series, Xena: Warrior Princess, has died.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Apr. 2025
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Between the godmothers’ grief and a less-than-adequate police department, Lila will have to seek justice on her own terms and figure out which scheming godmother the vendetta was meant for.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Connive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/connive. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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