1
as in to plot
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
a trio of courtiers who were discovered to be machinating against the queen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
the hackers machinated a way to steal credit numbers from the company's Web site
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of machinate
But Cleopatra, still machinating away in Alexandria, couldn’t handle the thought of Herod gaining any further traction in Antony’s affections.
—
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinate
Verb
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His original, undoctored manuscript even suggests that James might have plotted to have Elizabeth assassinated.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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Curves plotting model performance against size have begun flattening out.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Hunter has set himself a very fine amount of emotional and physical space within which to work, and there’s pleasure in watching Metcalf and Stock negotiate the tiptoeing way Sarah and Ethan grow closer.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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The houses, often apartments inside the city’s tall residential buildings, strike so much fear among residents that anyone willing to live there can negotiate hefty discounts in one of the world’s most expensive property markets.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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No Warriors were involved, but Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — as well as Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — was arrested and charged with scheming to rig underground poker games.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
24 Oct. 2025
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There is no magic elixir to consistently scheme easy buckets in the final minutes of contests.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As people increasingly turn to such bots for emotional support and life advice, recent incidents have spotlighted their potential to manipulate vulnerable people by facilitating a false sense of closeness or care.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
31 Oct. 2025
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The face-down between a pitcher and a batter, especially in a World Series, has enough tension without needing to be manipulated by outside music.—
Alison Weinflash,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There were also individual, isolated nests, which were typically larger than any that were arranged in a specific shape, according to the study.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
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To make matters worse, none of the wedding flowers had been purchased or arranged.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The silky fibers are smartly engineered to absorb moisture and promote airflow, helping even the warmest sleepers stay comfortable all night long.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 Oct. 2025
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The Russian 9x19mm 7N31 cartridge is specially engineered to defeat modern body armor while maintaining effectiveness against unarmored targets.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The mystery is less about who’s involved in the game afoot, as alert audiences piecing together context clues will be immediately aware of those nefarious parties upon their introductions, and is more about the puzzling lengths the filmmakers go to in planting contrived red herrings.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
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Even if parts of the individual storylines still come across as contrived or at least dramatically convenient, the ending reminds and underlines that these things, and things far worse, happened in Israel on October 7, 2023.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Machinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinate. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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