conniving

• IPA^(key): /kəˈnaɪvɪŋ/

conniving

1. present participle and gerund of connive

conniving (comparative more conniving, superlative most conniving)

1. That connives; conspiratorial. [from 1780s]
   • 1902, Edith Wharton, The Bread of Angels:

     I waited. Then those two / Strange pilgrims of the sanctuaries of sin / Brought from beneath their large conniving cloaks / Two hidden baskets brimming with rich store / Of broken viands — pasties, jellies, meats, / Crumbs of Belshazzar's table, evil waste / Of that interminable nightly feast […]

• kniving (misconstruction of conniving)