verb · intransitive · rare

connive

con·nive

connive · connives · connived · conniving

потурати, змовлятися

потакать, потворствовать, сговариваться

verschwören, aushecken

To secretly cooperate with other people in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoingTo secretly cooperate with other people in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire.

ⓘ

/kəˈnaɪv/

» You're a two-faced, conniving git.

Ты двуличный мерзавец, потворствующий этому делу.

Meaning

4 senses

(intransitive)To secretly cooperate with other people in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire.
aushecken, verschwören
сгова́риватьсяsgovárivatʹsja, потака́тьpotakátʹ, потво́рствоватьpotvórstvovatʹ
змовлятисяzmovljatysja, потуратиpoturaty
(intransitive, rare)Of parts of a plant: to be converging or in close contact; to be connivent.
(intransitive, obsolete)Often followed by at: to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to escape blame; to ignore or overlook a fault deliberately.
sich dumm stellen
закривати очіzakryvaty oči, дивитися крізь пальціdyvytysja krizʹ palʹci
(intransitive, obsolete)To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink.

More definitions

encourage or assent to illegally or criminally
form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner

Examples

4 sentences

You're a two-faced, conniving git.
ruТы двуличный мерзавец, потворствующий этому делу.
CC BY · Tatoeba · PeterR · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
Sami was so sneaky and conniving.
CC BY · Tatoeba · OsoHombre · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
I'm very aware of his conniving ways.
CC BY · Tatoeba · LoverofEnglish · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
The group had to scrimp, connive, and hustle in order to get by.
CC BY · Tatoeba · LK · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Translations

6 languages

Українська

By meaning 2

to secretly cooperate with another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing:

to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to escape blame:

Русский

By meaning 1

to secretly cooperate with another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing:

Deutsch

By meaning 2

to secretly cooperate with another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing:

to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to escape blame:

Origin

From French conniver (“to ignore and thus become complicit in wrongdoing”), or directly fr

From French conniver (“to ignore and thus become complicit in wrongdoing”), or directly from its etymon Latin con(n)īvēre (“close or screw up the eyes, blink, wink; overlook, turn a blind eye, connive”) (perhaps alluding to two persons involved in a scheme together winking to each other), from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + *nīvēre (related to nictō (“to blink, wink”), from Proto-Indo-European *kneygʷʰ- (“to bend, droop”)).

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