Synonyms of designing

designing 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈzī-niŋ 

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

• cunning
• cute
• slick
• subtle
• fraudulent
• scheming
• deceptive
• treacherous
• artful
• calculating
• dishonest
• crafty
• tricky
• crooked
• beguiling
• plotting
• shrewd
• devious
• wily
• foxy
• sly
• cagey
• covert
• dodgy
• guileful
• slippery
• deceitful
• shady
• sharp
• undercover
• clandestine
• circular
• astute
• serpentine
• roundabout
• concealed
• secret
• unscrupulous
• facile
• oblique
• sneaky
• glib
• Machiavellian
• insinuating
• surreptitious
• knavish
• underhanded
• circuitous
• shifty
• underhand
• hypocritical
• insincere
• backhanded
• stealthy
• mealy
• furtive
• left-handed
• two-faced
• double-dealing
• mealymouthed
• hugger-mugger
• smooth-tongued

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• public
• open
• innocent
• plain
• direct
• obvious
• simple
• ingenuous
• real
• artless
• patent
• guileless
• undesigning
• natural
• straightforward
• honest
• sincere
• frank
• candid
• unconcealed
• outspoken
• forthright
• unaffected
• unpretending
• unpretentious
• childlike
• unsophisticated
• aboveboard
• unvarnished
• impressionable
• trusting
• simpleminded
• unworldly
• plainspoken
• unstudied
• unforced
• trustful

designing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of design

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

• planning
• intending
• contemplating
• trying
• looking
• going
• aiming
• hoping
• proposing
• meaning
• wishing
• calculating
• meditating
• attempting
• aspiring
• purporting
• purposing
• allowing
• dreaming
• considering
• plotting
• figuring on
• debating
• pondering
• striving
• struggling
• executing
• endeavoring
• performing
• achieving
• accomplishing
• effecting
• mulling (over)
• scheming

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

• planning
• preparing
• organizing
• arranging
• plotting
• devising
• calculating
• charting
• shaping
• projecting
• outlining
• choreographing
• budgeting
• drafting
• mapping (out)
• blueprinting
• framing
• laying out
• contemplating
• scheming (out)
• strategizing (about)
• sketching
• figuring
• intending
• contriving
• conspiring
• intriguing
• aiming
• getting up
• concerting
• machinating
• having on
• meditating
• meaning
• putting up
• premeditating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of designing

Adjective

Marvell’s business co-designing custom AI chips is usually what gets the most attention. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026

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

Verb

Those assumptions can be quite uncertain when designing an entirely new study. — Mark Louie F. Ramos, STAT, 21 Oct. 2026

This year’s homebrew showstopper could see its creator designing a licensed table for one of the industry’s major manufacturers by the following year’s show. — ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

The Frankfurt Kitchen revolutionized domestic labor In 1925, the mayor of Frankfurt appointed architect Ernst May as the city’s building councilor and tasked him with designing a comprehensive program to address the housing shortage. — Tara Anne Dalbow, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026

Yook plays Han Sun-woo, a legal intern who would rather be designing jewelry and who trusts his instincts over logic. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is designing solid-state power substations; ARPA-E is funding research into converters for high-voltage DC corridors. — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Johnson, a former creative with Walt Disney Imagineering, leads Gensler’s entertainment and experiences division, which is designing the bookshop. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

For Rui Zhou, founder and creative director of RuiBuilt, his brand’s approach to designing and creating product has evolved over six years in business. — Yiling Pan, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026

Companies are becoming more intentional about designing experiences around consumer behavior and how people use services in daily life. — David Kim, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026