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connive

Syllabification: (con·nive)
Pronunciation: /kəˈnīv/

Translate connive | into French | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of connive

verb

[no object] (connive at/in)
  • secretly allow (something considered immoral, illegal, wrong, or harmful) to occur:you have it in your power to connive at my escape
  • (usually connive to do something) conspire to do something considered immoral, illegal, or harmful:the government had connived with security forces in permitting murder

Derivatives

conniver

noun

Origin:

early 17th century: from French conniver or Latin connivere 'shut the eyes (to)', from con- 'together' + an unrecorded word related to nictare 'to wink'

connive in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of connive in the British & World English dictionary

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