Ignoring another person's wrongdoing, for example, by indirectly condoning an illegal act by another person. In family law, the consent by a person to a spouse's conduct, especially adultery, that is later made the basis of a divorce proceeding or other complaint.. For example, a husband who invites his wife's lover along on vacation may have connived in her adultery, and if he tried to gain an advantage in the divorce as a result, she could assert his connivance as a defense.