CONNIVE

scheme, intrigue, connive

(verb) form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

connive (third-person singular simple present connives, present participle conniving, simple past and past participle connived)

(intransitive) Often followed by with: to secretly cooperate with another person or persons in order to commit a crime or other wrongdoing; to collude, to conspire. [from mid 17th c.]

(intransitive, botany, 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.

Synonyms: dissimulate (rare), look the other way, shut one's eyes, turn a blind eye, wink

(intransitive, obsolete) To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink.

Conjugation

Source: Wiktionary

Con*nive", v. i. [imp. & p.p. Connived; p.pr. & vb.n. Conniving.] Etym: [L. connivere to shut the eues, connive, fr. con- + (perh.) a word akin to nicere to beckon, nictare to wink.]

1. To open and close the eyes rapidly; to wink. [Obs.] The artist is to teach them how to nod judiciously, and to connive with either eye. Spectator.

2. To close the eyes upon a fault; to wink (at); to fail or forbear by intention to discover an act; to permit a proceeding, as if not aware of it; -- usually followed by at. To connive at what it does not approve. Jer. Taylor. In many of these, the directors were heartily concurring; in most of them, they were encouraging, and sometimes commanding; in all they were conniving. Burke. The government thought it expedient, occasionally, to connive at the violation of this rule. Macaulay.

Con*nive", v. t.

Definition: To shut the eyes to; to overlook; to pretend not to see. [R. & Obs.] "Divorces were not connived only, but with eye open allowed." Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition