connive
con·nive/kəˈnaɪv/verb
connive is spelled C-O-N-N-I-V-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (con·nive). It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, connive means “To secretly cooperate with other people in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in connive?
| Letters | 7: C-O-N-N-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: con·nive |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 145,125th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is connive?
Connive appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce connive?
- US /kəˈnaɪv/
Connive has 2 syllables, split con·nive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-connive.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with connive?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as connive from its last stressed vowel (/aɪv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of connive
- connives present, singular, he/she/it
- conniving participle, present
- connived participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does connive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To secretly cooperate with other people in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire.
- 2
rareOf parts of a plant: to be converging or in close contact; to be connivent.
- 3
obsoleteOften followed by at: to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to escape blame; to ignore or overlook a fault deliberately.
- 4
obsoleteTo open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Connive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | conspirer, intriguer , feindre l'ignorance |
| German | aushecken, verschwören , sich dumm stellen |
| Spanish | confabular, conspirar , hacerse el leso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does connive come from?
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”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).