Definition of "connive" []

• To cooperate secretly in an illegal or wrongful action; collude: The dealers connived with customs officials to bring in narcotics. (verb-intransitive)
• To scheme; plot. (verb-intransitive)
• To feign ignorance of or fail to take measures against a wrong, thus implying tacit encouragement or consent: The guards were suspected of conniving at the prisoner's escape. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Not sure what you mean by 'connive' as we have not been in government when these decisions were taken."
• "I should have realized Belinda is too simple to deceive and connive."
• "Negligent parents leave their children with uncouth friends, relatives or even strangers, who in turn connive with witches to kill the children for money."