as in intrigue
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Recent Examples of counterplot
Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2019
There’s something comforting about the normalcy of plot and counterplot, action and intrigue.
—Mike Hale, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2017
Noun
Bit by bit, the castle at Elsinore (broodingly rendered by scenic designer Lee Savage) turns into a stage for life-and-death plots and counterplots.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2019
There’s something comforting about the normalcy of plot and counterplot, action and intrigue.
—Mike Hale, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterplot
Noun
-
Of the Heat’s emerging young players, none stands with as much intrigue of the unknown.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
21 June 2026
-
Only, a loafer reads more traditionally masculine, and the ballet flats have a bit more intrigue and sophistication to them.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
This doesn’t mean elite parents sit around plotting class reproduction over brunch.—
Rob Henderson,
Washington Post,
21 June 2026
-
He was invited by Malcolm X to stay in Harlem at the famous Hotel Theresa, where agents with ties to the FBI, CIA and the Mafia, plotted to assassinate him.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
For all the machinations, though, this dealmaking could happen without Greenland changing hands.—
Joshua Hunt,
Vanity Fair,
17 June 2026
-
Should Wiggins opt into the final season on his contract, he then could be subbed in for Herro in the machinations of a Giannis deal.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
The kids are savvy, scheming to avoid their parents.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
-
Nonetheless, the series evolves into an elaborate soap opera over its 39 episodes, with complex scheming characters opposing Utena, her relationship with Anthy serving as the lodestar that guides this tragedy towards its ambiguous conclusion.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
There is a long history of subterfuge at World Cups — a long history of sharing injury information that isn’t exactly transparent or even accurate.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
If the Allies had had to postpone the invasion for the next moon-tide alignment later in the month, the subterfuge would have been exposed.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Because Ashley's defamation claim failed, her claim that her siblings had conspired to defame her likewise failed.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
-
Many forces conspired to push up prices, but disinvestment in public universities wasn’t one of them.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
Steven Spielberg’s alien conspiracy adventure has earned $82 million internationally and $160 million after two weekends on the big screen.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
21 June 2026
-
This isn't a conspiracy, but how large language models operate.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
Verb
-
The work lies in making that interface feel truthful rather than contrived.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
Credibility gets strained pretty quickly as the playwrights contrive to get the characters to face each other in person.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterplot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterplot. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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