What does connivence mean?
Connivence means the act of secretly tolerating or tacitly encouraging wrongdoing while pretending to be unaware of it. A person guilty of connivence does not commit the offense directly, but enables it by deliberately looking the other way — closing their eyes, as the word's Latin origin suggests. The term appears most often in formal contexts such as journalism, law, and history: a smuggling ring might operate 'with the connivance of customs officers,' or a cover-up might depend on regulators' connivence. Its connotation is firmly negative, suggesting complicity, cowardice, or corrupt self-interest rather than innocent inattention. In modern English the spelling 'connivance' is standard and widely recognized, while 'connivence' persists mainly as a variant form found in older texts. Understanding this word is valuable precisely because it names a subtle but consequential kind of dishonesty: the harm done not by action, but by calculated inaction.
nounThe act of conniving: tacit encouragement or secret tolerance of wrongdoing by pretending ignorance of it rather than actively participating in it.
- Tacit cooperation or secret assent to wrongdoing, especially by feigning ignorance or overlooking it while it happens.
"The scandal could never have grown so large without the connivence of senior officials who chose to look the other way."
"The fraud proceeded for years with the connivence of the auditors, who signed off on accounts they knew were false."
"Her silence was not innocence but connivence; she had known about the plan all along and simply chosen not to stop it."
Almost always used as an uncountable mass noun; a plural form exists grammatically but is rare and generally avoided.
"The inquiry uncovered repeated connivences between officials and contractors over many years."
It comes from a Latin verb meaning 'to wink' — literally to close your eyes to something you'd rather not see.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of connivence
Connivence derives from the Latin verb connivere, formed from con- ('together') and nictare ('to wink or blink'), so its literal root sense is 'to shut one's eyes.' It entered English in the early 17th century, when it carried the sense of shutting one's eyes to something one disapproved of but lacked the will to prevent, before settling into its modern meaning of tacit permission for wrongdoing. Close relatives include the more common noun connivance and the verb connive, which share the same Latin source.
How connivence is actually used
Formal register, most at home in legal, journalistic, and historical writing about corruption or misconduct. It carries strongly negative connotations, implying deliberate moral evasion rather than mere oversight. Note that 'connivance' is the standard spelling in modern English dictionaries; 'connivence' survives chiefly as an older or variant form.
Easily confused with connivence
Connivance is the far more common spelling of the same word; 'connivence' is a rarer variant.
'Convenience' means suitability or ease of use and differs from 'connivence' only subtly in spelling despite entirely unrelated meanings.