Standard Lemma guide

connivance

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /kəˈnaɪvəns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N AY1 V AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The process of conniving or conspiring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(law) tacit approval of someone's wrongdoing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: secret approval, tacit consent

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: approval, commendation

3

noun

Meaning 3

agreement on a secret plot

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: collusion

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: agreement

Narrower terms: cahoot

History

Etymology

From early 18th c., replaced earlier form connivence (late 16th c.), from Latin connīventia, from connīvēns (“winking”).

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: թողտվություն (tʻoġtvutʻyun) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Catalan: connivència — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Finnish: petoksellisuus — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • French: connivence — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Italian: connivenza — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Italian: collaborazionismo — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Northern Kurdish: bêbextî — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Portuguese: conivência — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Russian: попусти́тельство (popustítelʹstvo) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Russian: потво́рство (potvórstvo) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Russian: молчали́вое согла́сие (molčalívoje soglásije) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Spanish: connivencia — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Spanish: conspiración — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Tamil: உடந்தை (uṭantai) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Ukrainian: потурання (poturannja) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Ukrainian: мовчазна згода (movčazna zhoda) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring
  • Ukrainian: співучасть (spivučastʹ) — (law) the process of conniving or conspiring