connive

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /kəˈnaɪv/ UK /kəˈnaɪv/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to secretly cooperate in wrongdoing; to scheme

They connived to oust the chairman before the vote.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to secretly cooperate in... conspire scheme plot collude intrigue machinate cooperate

Opposites

oppose resist prevent thwart

Word family

Forms conniving

Derived forms conniverconnivanceconnivingconnivence

Related forms nictitate

Simplified etymology

Connive comes from French conniver or Latin connivere, meaning “shut one’s eyes to something.” This produced the sense of deliberately overlooking wrongdoing; correspondingly, connivance once meant “winking.”

Etymology

From Latin conivere ('to shut the eyes, wink at, overlook'), from con- ('together') + a verb related to 'to blink, close the eyes'; the sense developed from feigning ignorance of wrongdoing.

conivere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# connive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /kəˈnaɪv/
**IPA (UK):** /kəˈnaɪv/

## Meanings
1. to secretly cooperate in wrongdoing; to scheme

## Examples
- They connived to oust the chairman before the vote.

## Synonyms
- conspire
- scheme
- plot
- collude
- intrigue
- machinate
- cooperate

## Antonyms
- oppose
- resist
- prevent
- thwart

## Derived Forms
- conniver
- connivance
- conniving
- connivence

## Related Forms
- nictitate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: conivere

## Etymology
From Latin conivere ('to shut the eyes, wink at, overlook'), from con- ('together') + a verb related to 'to blink, close the eyes'; the sense developed from feigning ignorance of wrongdoing.

## AI Etymology
Connive is a verb meaning "to secretly cooperate in wrongdoing; to scheme". Historically, it is from Latin conivere ('to shut the eyes, wink at, overlook'), from con- ('together') + a verb related to 'to blink, close the eyes'; the sense developed from feigning ignorance of wrongdoing. The visible construction is part of the etymology: connive is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "to secretly cooperate in wrongdoing; to scheme", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain is anchored in Latin conivere. Close English family members include conniver, connivance, conniving, connivence, and nictitate.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown