Connivance
/kəˈnaɪ.vəns/noun
Secret cooperation in wrongdoing, or a deliberate failure to act against it.
Did you know?Connivance comes from Latin connīvēre, literally “to close the eyes,” so the word originally meant a deliberate turning away of sight before it became hidden approval.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
connīvēre
“to shut the eyes; to close the eyes in a deliberate or figurative sense”
Late Latin
Latin
conniventia
“a closing of the eyes; figuratively, secret allowance or complicity”
14th Century
English
connivance
“secret agreement, or tacit permission through looking away”
Modern English
English
connivance
“secret cooperation in wrongdoing, or deliberate tolerance of it”
Explore more surprising origins