1
as in to plot
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
a trio of courtiers who were discovered to be machinating against the queen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
the hackers machinated a way to steal credit numbers from the company's Web site
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of machinate
But Cleopatra, still machinating away in Alexandria, couldn’t handle the thought of Herod gaining any further traction in Antony’s affections.
—
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinate
Verb
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In Minnesota, a man was sentenced to life in prison for plotting the murder of a real estate agent in part by luring her to a bogus showing.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
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From there, further modules plan and execute experiments, analyze and plot the data and, finally, write the paper.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But stocks were buoyed by reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was willing to negotiate.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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There were no mass demonstrations by the Iranian people against the regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued to fight even more ferociously, and Khamenei’s death did nothing to bring Iran’s negotiating position onto a more reasonable plane.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The other is the tale of an A-list actress, aided by some of the biggest celebrities in the world who include husband Ryan Reynolds and friend Taylor Swift, scheming to rip away control of a director’s passion project and destroy his reputation.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
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Former City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown’s daughter admitted to scheming with her family to use fake documents and steal pandemic relief money from the federal government.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Orban started manipulating these grievances, and did so to significantly divide Hungarian society.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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As machines grow more powerful, society will become increasingly effective at shaping the world, while individuals who never learned to think deeply will be easier to manipulate.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The concierge specializes in Kyoto’s cultural events, and can help access exclusive ochaya with an interpreter, score tickets to the theater, book dinner reservations, a huge help in Kyoto, or help arrange meetings with monks and priests at the city’s Shinto shrines and temples.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 Apr. 2026
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These could be arranged into longer, songlike sequences that played automatically.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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These are engineered for road running and provide maximum cushion for comfort.—
Claire Peltier,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
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But colleges still need to exercise caution because socially engineering positive outcomes can easily go awry.—
David Blobaum,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The entire deal felt cheesy and contrived.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
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The ice bucket set-up for their initial confrontation felt contrived and Vida and Dodie’s dramatic actions involving their hotel room door felt out of character.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Machinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinate. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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