complicity
31
8.4
- noun
- /kəmˈplɪsɪti/
- Formal
:
complicidad
- Bonhoeffer was hanged on 9 April 1945 for complicity in the plot to assassinate Hitler.
- complicity in crime
- accused of complicity
- own complicity
So US complicity, who are the bad guys now?
- So US complicity, who are the bad guys now?
- The level of complicity on the part of the Saudis, I cannot speak to.
- No union with the slaveholder pull out from any complicity with slavery.
- And it's not as if men don't have any sort of complicity in this.
- But that means that the West must come clean about its own complicity in torture, often used as a tool in fighting terrorism.
Examples
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He refused to admit complicity in the killing of Miller Starkie.
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Without admitting guilt or complicity, did you actually kill that rapist?
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And there we have this complicity between them.
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Since when is complicity a crime?
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Maybe it was the way she assumed complicity between the two of us.
Fiction book (1990) -
Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent.
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There's no question in my mind there is a complicity in the flow of drugs into this country.
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What he doesn't recognize is his own complicity in the events that unfold.
Academic text (2008) -
Your complicity in maintaining the captivity of this boy, even after you became aware of the seriousness of the situation, has associated you with grievous crimes.
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The investigation revealed their complicity in the illegal financial scheme.
Synonyms
205
8.4
Secret deal by people or companies to cheat others
2
9.9
Secret help that allows someone to do something illegal
Antonyms
How Involved
Surface Forms
Morphology
complicity = complicate (opaque) = complic + ity
The connection to 'complicate' is not straightforward for learners, as 'complicity' does not directly derive from the verb's meaning.
Etymology
Complicity comes from Latin parts com- 'with' and plicare 'to fold', giving the picture of people 'folded together' or joined as one. That's why complicity means being involved with others in a crime or wrongdoing.