KNi$_2$Se$_2$ exhibits an increase of symmetry on cooling below $Tle50$ K, as observed by Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms that the symmetry increase is due to changes in nickel-nickel interactions and suppression of charge density wave fluctuations. Density functional theory calculations reveal a zone- boundary lattice instability that provides a model of the room-temperature x-ray pair distribution function data, but fails to describe the higher local symmetry observed for $Tle50$K. Together, these results support many- body correlation effects as drivers for the unusual heavy fermion electronic ground state in KNi$_2$Se$_2$.
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