Complicitous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving or showing participation in wrongdoing or a questionable act alongside others
2. Being involved in wrongdoing or unethical behavior in conjunction with others
3. Demonstrating complicity in illegal or immoral actions through participation with others

Etymology: Latin "complicare" meant "to fold together" or "to entangle," and that image of being folded into someone else's deed is what gave English its sense of shared guilt. Through Late Latin "complicitas" and French "complicité," the noun "complicity" entered English for involvement in a wrongdoing that someone else committed or planned. "Complicitous" is built from that noun by adding the English suffix "-ous," meaning "characterized by" or "full of." Beside it stands "complicit," a shorter adjective with the same meaning that is now much more common in print.

Synonyms: collusive, involved, conniving

Antonyms: innocent, unrelated, uncomplicit