Connive

Pronunciation: /kəˈnaɪv/

Definitions of connive

verb to secretly plot or scheme, especially for a deceitful or illegal purpose

Example Sentences

A1 She connived with her friends to surprise her sister on her birthday.

A2 The employees connived to get their boss fired.

B1 The students connived to cheat on the exam.

B2 The politicians connived to pass the controversial bill.

C1 The criminals connived to steal the priceless artwork from the museum.

C2 The mastermind behind the scheme connived to manipulate the outcome in his favor.

Examples of connive in a Sentence

formal The group of conspirators planned to connive against the king.

informal I heard that Mark and Sarah are conniving to get a promotion at work.

slang Don't trust him, he's always conniving behind people's backs.

figurative The dark clouds seemed to connive with the wind to create a storm.

Grammatical Forms of connive

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

Origin and Evolution of connive

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 the eyes'.

Evolution of the word: Originally, 'connive' meant to close one's eyes as if to ignore or overlook something. Over time, the word evolved to also mean secretly cooperate or conspire in wrongdoing.