conniving 1 of 2

noun

as in connivance

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conniving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of connive
1
as in winking
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in plotting
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends suspects that his coworkers are conniving to get him fired

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conniving
Noun
The problem was Grossbart, whose conniving seemed to corroborate the worst stereotypes about the Jewish people — and so soon after the Shoah. — Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
Gizelle, who has been stirring the pot and playing producer for everyone on the trip, keeps up her conniving ways by sitting down all the RHOP ladies except for Candiace during their Potomac retrospective moment at the party. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026 The conniving Cardinal Richelieu is the central villain in this 1993 action/comedy adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic 1844 novel. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 Locklear played the conniving Amanda Woodward from 1993 through the end of the series’ seven-season run, earning four Golden Globe nominations in the process. — Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 2026 Also, the conniving acts of communication and coordination don’t have to work in real-time. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026 Daemon is one of the most clever, cunning and conniving characters in House of the Dragon, who always seems to have the upper hand. — Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026 Jackson is depicted as conniving and quick to use his wealth and fame to overwhelm the family. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conniving
  1. connivance
  2. winking
  3. plotting
  4. collusion
  5. ignoring
  6. scheming
  7. complicity
  8. strategy
Noun
  • There was no moon that evening, a detail, Shawn’s mother would later say, when arguing with his father about whether the man was dangerous or not, that was clearly not a coincidence, and showed careful consideration and connivance on his part.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Or was the whole thing a connivance and Mitzi Blinkhorn always destined to win, thanks to some Machiavellian manipulation behind the scenes?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of connivance
Verb
  • Fresh silhouettes in pale pink, sky blue, khaki and white were cut in crisp cotton, winking to the daywear summer occasions of the Sa Su Phi customers who juggle between board meetings, art gallery openings and a garden parties.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The production’s winking tone blunts some of the original’s tear-jerking climax, yet its intact happy ending offers a surprisingly comforting vision of survival in an age of constant crises.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of winking
Verb
  • Two teenage girls spent months plotting a mass shooting in Riverside County, officials say.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The distinction matters because operating an unmanned vessel requires more than plotting a route.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of plotting
Noun
  • Recent seasons have also cast Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford, who do their fair share of political collusion crossed with romantic assignments.
    — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • During the Senate hearing, Dan Meyer, a Vice President of Pierce Manufacturing, was asked about allegations of collusion among the makers of fire apparatus.
    — Jeff Nguyen, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of collusion
Verb
  • Cameron Berg, who founded the nonprofit Reciprocal Research to study the potential for AI consciousness, argues that ignoring the question could carry its own dangers.
    — Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Oct. 2026
  • With nearly 70% of listeners now consuming video podcasts, treating an interview as just a microphone chat means ignoring how your audience actually consumes content.
    — Victoria Usher, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignoring
Verb
  • Who doesn’t love a good scheming royal for collecting Halloween treats?
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Of the four-person ensemble, I was most intrigued by Rachna Khatau, the wild card of the group whose roles are the most slyly scheming and unpredictable.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of scheming
Noun
  • Missing evidence and recanted testimonies suggest that powerful men might have interfered with the investigation to hide their own complicity in the murder.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In contrast to the gorgeous monochrome visuals, this is a land that stinks of complicity and delusion — of opportunists desperate to scramble onto the right side of history.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of complicity
Noun
  • The agreement came after the EU unveiled a new Arctic strategy aimed at countering growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region.
    — Lee Ying Shan,Matthew Tan, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Its faster trial infrastructure, its more integrated translational pathways, and its willingness to link industrial strategy to health delivery hold lessons for governments around the world.
    — Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of strategy

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Cite this Entry

“Conniving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conniving. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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