machinate

1 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 of machinate collude, compass, connive, conspire, contrive, intrigue, plot, put up, schemeWords Related to machinate counterplot; brew, concoct, cook (up), devise, hatch; engineer, jockey, maneuver, manipulate; design, frame, lay out, map, plan, shape

2 to plan out usually with subtle skill or care the hackers machinated a way to steal credit numbers from the company's Web site Synonyms of machinate contrive, finagle, finesse, frame, engineer, maneuver, manipulate, mastermind, negotiate, wangleWords Related to machinate arrange, concert, conclude, hammer out, work out; angle (for), compass, intrigue, plot, scheme; connive; brew, concoct, cook (up), hatch; captain, command, conduct, direct, handle, manage, quarterback, run; gerrymanderNear Antonyms of machinate blow, bobble, botch, bungle, butcher, flub, fumble, gum (up), louse up, mangle, mess (up), mishandle, muff