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
-
Local legend has it that the outlaw Jesse James once used the caverns as a hideout, adding some infamous intrigue to the subterranean spectacle.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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The season began with immense intrigue and anticipation due to a sweeping regulation change that has caused each team to build brand-new cars, resetting the order of the grid.—
Sahil Kapur,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Iran may soon run out of drones, yet has other asymmetrical options – such as choking the Strait of Hormuz or plotting terror on foreign soil – that can irritate the US and disrupt peace.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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Declan Rice and Gabriel are deep in conversation, plotting what could have been their team’s 22nd set-piece goal of the season — a familiar scene and something that antagonises the Brighton supporters.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For her part, in March 2025, Ferbert completely betrayed her 2024 campaign promise to avoid political machinations as the city’s top lawyer.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
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Inevitably, however, the result feels like the character evolutions, machinations, and plot pivots of an entire series of the show compressed desperately into 112 minutes.—
Miriam Balanescu,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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These AIs have shown behaviors as varied as deception and blackmail, to scheming and cheating by hacking software.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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Teams clearly schemed to exploit him in the pick-and-roll.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This claim swayed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to note this version of the administration’s fabrication in his dissent, which will be forever linked to this administration’s subterfuge.—
Mark Pirie,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
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Both nations are among the tournament's top contenders, which made the last few practices stateside simmering with subterfuge.—
Ren Clayton,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Once a sky-blue democracy is restored, may Trump’s days of infamy be ruled illegitimate and his name and legacy duly tainted by all of history, darkly blackened or cautiously reddened in the honest records that this twerp and his twisted cohorts have conspired so heinously to whitewash.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Jurors acquitted all three women of conspiring to dox Huitzilin.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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When the conspiracy was uncovered, women were interrogated and punished.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2026
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This conspiracy goes all the way to the top.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Prosecutors with the First Judicial District Attorney's Office claim Heskett contrived a story that he had been attacked by a man near a trail in the state park.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterplot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterplot. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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