as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
a fraudulent scheme contrived by a group of greedy and designing people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in planning
to have in mind as a purpose or goal
early on she had designed to a top position in a major insurance company
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in preparing
to work out the details of (something) in advance
the foreman designed a better layout for the factory floor to improve efficiency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of designing
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 5 Dec. 2025
Broadcom shares have surged as Wall Street positions the chipmaker as a play on Alphabet’s growing AI dominance, thanks to Broadcom’s role in co-designing Google’s custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) that power the new standout Gemini 3 artificial intelligence model.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
That means giving up or sharing power and privilege and doing the hard work of listening and co-designing solutions with the marginalized groups.
—Setche Kwamu-Nana, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Nov. 2020
In the 1960s, the computing pioneer Grace Murray Hopper would hand out 11.8-inch lengths of wire to illustrate how designing smaller electronic parts would create faster computers.
—John Markoff, New York Times, 29 June 2018
New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
In addition to his own home décor label, Adler has collaborated with buzzy brands, including designing a house for cultural icon Barbie.
—Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 23 Jan. 2026
Most organizations are still designing leadership programs for a world that doesn't exist anymore.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Valentino fashion brand sold for US$300 million in 1998 to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali, with Valentino still designing until his retirement in 2007.
—Jye Marshall, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
In the early ’90s, the National Air and Space Museum began designing an exhibition that would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, focusing on the bomber itself.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Craig had to have his key staff lined up by May 1, some 5,000 library books ordered by July 1, not to mention getting a faculty for 500 students, designing a curriculum, selecting and ordering texts, even down to designing application forms, catalogs, etc.
—Roger Simmons, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
Majestic Labs is designing an AI system for inference with 128 terabytes of memory, or about 100 times more memory than some current AI systems, Rabii said, adding that the company plans to eschew HBM memory for lower-cost options.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026
However, designing a suitable light-responsive electrode is difficult.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
That means brands funding cooling infrastructure, working with workers and unions to establish robust heat-stress protections and co-designing transition plans with workers from the outset.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 5 Dec. 2025
Broadcom shares have surged as Wall Street positions the chipmaker as a play on Alphabet’s growing AI dominance, thanks to Broadcom’s role in co-designing Google’s custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) that power the new standout Gemini 3 artificial intelligence model.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
That means giving up or sharing power and privilege and doing the hard work of listening and co-designing solutions with the marginalized groups.
—Setche Kwamu-Nana, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Nov. 2020
In the 1960s, the computing pioneer Grace Murray Hopper would hand out 11.8-inch lengths of wire to illustrate how designing smaller electronic parts would create faster computers.
—John Markoff, New York Times, 29 June 2018
Verb
Freescape did not expend all its creativity designing the patented inflatable roof, saving plenty for the flexible lower floor plan.
—New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
In addition to his own home décor label, Adler has collaborated with buzzy brands, including designing a house for cultural icon Barbie.
—Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 23 Jan. 2026
Most organizations are still designing leadership programs for a world that doesn't exist anymore.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Valentino fashion brand sold for US$300 million in 1998 to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali, with Valentino still designing until his retirement in 2007.
—Jye Marshall, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
In the early ’90s, the National Air and Space Museum began designing an exhibition that would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, focusing on the bomber itself.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Craig had to have his key staff lined up by May 1, some 5,000 library books ordered by July 1, not to mention getting a faculty for 500 students, designing a curriculum, selecting and ordering texts, even down to designing application forms, catalogs, etc.
—Roger Simmons, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
Majestic Labs is designing an AI system for inference with 128 terabytes of memory, or about 100 times more memory than some current AI systems, Rabii said, adding that the company plans to eschew HBM memory for lower-cost options.
—Kif Leswing, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026
However, designing a suitable light-responsive electrode is difficult.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for designing
Adjective
-
His initial rise to fame came from playing cunning and ruthless centuries-old vampire Eric Northman on True Blood.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Jan. 2026
-
They’re built up to be these impossibly deadly and evil and cunning foes, and then our much less impressive heroes manage to take them down through grit and determination or just dumb luck.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Volunteering For One High-Visibility Initiative When the year begins, many teams are planning major initiatives, strategic meetings or kickoffs for important projects.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Several New Jersey school districts are planning to welcome students back on Tuesday, but some places, like Jersey City, have been forced to cancel classes for a second day due to the clean-up after the snowstorm proving to be a daunting task.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
With another icy day expected on Tuesday, many medical professionals are preparing to spend another night here at the hospital.—
Erin Jones,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Later clarification confirmed that the submarine is still preparing for submerged operations.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Dozens of the cute, little cheesecakes were sitting in a cooler near the cashier in Boardwalk Pizza.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The pieces trailing off the bodice as her skirt, lined with green fur, are not cute.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce owns the intellectual property rights to the image of the Hollywood® Sign, so that anyone intending to use and/or access the Hollywood® Sign for commercial purposes must obtain a license or permission from the Hollywood Chamber to do so.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Deer-ly beloved On a now typical frosty evening late last week, Beth Brecher was about to walk out of her back door onto Central Park intending to feed the birds.—
Jerry Shnay,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
By organizing around these strengths, firms created a world of selling that still looks surprisingly similar to how many digital platforms operate today.—
Paula de la Cruz,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Don’t worry too much about organizing everything perfectly here.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The slick material keeps chafing to a minimum during workouts, and the brushed inside is so soft against the skin and helps keep cold air out and your body heat in.—
Olivia Dubyak,
InStyle,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Between the melting ice under the court and heavy rain Thursday night in Chicago, condensation created a slick and dangerous playing surface.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Traveling around the world, arranging meetings with whoever is the oldest at that particular moment in time, Green struggles to formulate the right questions to ask these people.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Start with seasonal ideas, such as a floral-arranging class, pie-making challenge, pumpkin-carving party, or a paint-and-sip.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Designing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/designing. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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