noun

complicity

kum-PLIS-uh-tee/kəmˈplɪsəti/

Involvement with others in wrongdoing.

Their secret sharing of stolen coins reveals their complicity in the theft.

Two adults knowingly share ill-gotten coins behind a shop while glancing guiltily toward an empty purse, shared wrongdoing.

Etymology

comLatintogether

+plicLatinto fold

+ityFrenchstate or condition

The image of being folded together underlies a word for a partner or confederate. Complicity names such partnership specifically in wrongdoing: being involved with others in an objectionable act.

In context

Storytime Haven0:52

For, though I have never been openly accused of complicity in those miserable affairs, yet I cannot rid myself of the remembrance that it was I who introduced the man who perpetrated them to London society

A Prince of Swindlers 👑💰 | A Tale of Deceit and Adventure by Guy Boothby

More examples

She denies any complicity in hiding the missing funds.
Their silence raises questions about possible complicity.
The evidence proves complicity rather than mere awareness of the scheme.

Forms

complicity

Similar words

collusion: More specifically suggests secret cooperation in wrongdoing.
involvement: Involvement is neutral participation; complicity specifically concerns shared wrongdoing.