Word Study
connive
CIDE DICTIONARY
connive, v. i. [L. connivere to shut the eyes, connive, fr. con- + (perh.) a word akin to nicere to beckon, nictare to wink.].
- To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink. [1913 Webster]"The artist is to teach them how to nod judiciously, and to connive with either eye." [1913 Webster]
- To close the eyes upon a fault; to wink (at); to fail or forbear by intention to discover an act; to permit a proceeding, as if not aware of it; -- usually followed by at. [1913 Webster]"To connive at what it does not approve." [1913 Webster]"In many of these, the directors were heartily concurring; in most of them, they were encouraging, and sometimes commanding; in all they were conniving." [1913 Webster]"The government thought it expedient, occasionally, to connive at the violation of this rule." [1913 Webster]
connive, v. t.
To shut the eyes to; to overlook; to pretend not to see. Milton. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
connive, v.intr.
1 (foll. by at) disregard or tacitly consent to (a wrongdoing).
2 (usu. foll. by with) conspire.
1 (foll. by at) disregard or tacitly consent to (a wrongdoing).
2 (usu. foll. by with) conspire.
Derivative
conniver n.
Etymology
F conniver or L connivere shut the eyes (to)
THESAURUS
connive
accord, agree, angle, associate, be in cahoots, blink at, brew, cabal, coact, coadunate, cogitate, coincide, collaborate, collogue, collude, combine, complot, concoct, concur, condone, conjoin, conspire, contrive, cook up, cooperate, correspond, countermine, counterplot, devise, disregard, engineer, finagle, finesse, frame, frame up, happen together, harmonize, hatch, hatch a plot, hatch up, ignore, intrigue, join, lay a plot, machinate, maneuver, operate, overlook, plot, regard with indulgence, rig, scheme, synchronize, synergize, tolerate, unite, wangle, wink atFor further exploring for "connive" in Webster Dictionary Online
