machination

noun

mach·​i·​na·​tion ˌma-kə-ˈnā-shən 

ˌma-shə-

1

: an act of machinating

2

: a scheming or crafty action or artful design intended to accomplish some usually evil end

backstage machinations … that have dominated the film industry

—Peter Bogdanovich

Synonyms

• conspiracy
• scheme
• plot

Choose the Right Synonym for machination

plot, intrigue, machination, conspiracy, cabal mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end.

plot implies careful foresight in planning a complex scheme.

an assassination plot

intrigue suggests secret underhanded maneuvering in an atmosphere of duplicity.

backstairs intrigue

machination implies a contriving of annoyances, injuries, or evils by indirect means.

the machinations of a party boss

conspiracy implies a secret agreement among several people usually involving treason or great treachery.

a conspiracy to fix prices

cabal typically applies to political intrigue involving persons of some eminence.

a cabal among powerful senators

Examples of machination in a Sentence

incredibly complicated machinations to assassinate the president that inevitably failed

Recent Examples on the Web

The scramble to try to get back into the game, started by Freeman’s exit, created enough lineup machinations that Mookie Betts wound up in right field for the first time all season, fielding a fly ball to start the eighth inning. —Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025

Big Tech machinations come right to the fore of Severance and its Lumon headquarters. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2025

Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations would go, in some kind of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, to my understanding. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025

But if the uneven but ultimately satisfying machinations of The Last Wun are proof, there are worse places to be than alone at the top. —Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for machination

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation