Connive At

Pronunciation: /kəˈnaɪv ˈæt/

Definitions of connive at

verb to secretly cooperate or conspire with someone to do something wrong, illegal, or harmful

Example Sentences

A1 She would never connive at cheating in school.

A2 The teacher suspected some students were conniving at copying each other's homework.

B1 The manager was accused of conniving at the embezzlement of company funds.

B2 The corrupt officials connived at the illegal activities of the powerful businessman.

C1 The government was found to have connived at the human rights abuses in the country.

C2 The judge was implicated in a scandal where he connived at manipulating court decisions.

Examples of connive at in a Sentence

formal It is unacceptable for a judge to connive at corruption within the legal system.

informal I can't believe he would connive at cheating on the exam.

slang I heard she connived at the party last night to get free drinks.

figurative The politician was accused of conniving at the exploitation of workers for personal gain.

Grammatical Forms of connive at

• past tense: connived at
• plural: connive at
• comparative: more conniving at
• superlative: most conniving at
• present tense: connives at
• future tense: will connive at
• perfect tense: have connived at
• continuous tense: is conniving at
• singular: connive at
• positive degree: connive at
• infinitive: to connive at
• gerund: conniving at
• participle: connived at

Origin and Evolution of connive at

First Known Use: 1601 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'connive' originated from the Latin word 'connivere' meaning 'to close one's eyes'.

Evolution of the word: Initially, 'connive at' meant to overlook or disregard something wrong or illegal. Over time, the word has evolved to also include the idea of secretly cooperating or conspiring with someone to do something deceitful or illegal.