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
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The intrigue: While some areas with relatively high shares of young adults living at a parent's home also have relatively steep housing costs, Pew didn't find a clear link between those factors.—
Alex Fitzpatrick,
Axios,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Vatican remains a nest of intrigue, despite all his untying of knots.—
Howard Chua-Eoan,
Mercury News,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Leaders assume everything is fine, not realizing that high performers are masters at appearing fine while already plotting their next move.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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Victoria Goodwin has accepted a plea deal for her involvement in plotting her estranged husband Aaron Goodwin’s murder.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And yet, solo developer Billy Basso managed to stuff his adventure with layers and layers of clockwork machinations — hundreds of riddles, pleated together across a diorama that isn’t large, but is certainly deep.—
Luke Winkie,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2025
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Now trapped inside the car and communicating through the car's speaker system, Eddie has to reckon with the devious machinations of William and whatever chaos he's got planned.—
Kevin Sabet,
Newsweek,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Kiffin often schemed open the first read, and Dart operated almost entirely out of the shotgun.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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That is complicit with scheming orchestrated by politicized bureaucrats.—
Jack Fowler,
National Review,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Other times, the responsible parties engage in active subterfuge.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
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His delivery of Mantel’s dialogue—modern, intelligent, bristling with implication and subterfuge—is mesmerizingly clear.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The police then conspired to fabricate evidence and lie under oath to protect their own, the defense alleged.—
Jean Casarez,
CNN Money,
25 Apr. 2025
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Read says Boston-area first responders conspired to frame her for the Keefe's death in January 2022, when the former police officer was found mortally wounded outside a Canton, Massachusetts, home.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The four were convicted on two counts each of kidnapping and robbery and one count each of conspiracy to kidnap for ransom.—
Taryn Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2025
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He also is found guilty of first-degree arson and conspiracy to commit arson.—
Todd Pendleton,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But there’s hope too, and however contrived the last scene may feel, there’s poetry in watching someone betting his future on yet another horse.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2025
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Characters take on lives of their own, making choices that feel authentic rather than contrived.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterplot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterplot. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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