machinated

verb

past tense of machinate
1
as in plotted
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

Relevance
2
as in negotiated
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 & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinated
  1. plotted
  2. negotiated
  3. engineered
  4. manipulated
  5. arranged
  6. contrived
Verb
  • During the Cold War, as futurists on both sides of the Iron Curtain plotted to control the direction of history, another group coalesced around a more modest idea.
    — Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • For the celebration itself, Jess and Nasko plotted a week of activities bouncing off (American) Labor Day weekend.
    — Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 July 2026
Definition of plotted
Verb
  • Suffice it to say that the Kittrells could probably have negotiated much better deals with their creditors than 100 cents on the dollar.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who negotiated the 39 percent compromise, has stressed that Congress wrote the cap into law specifically to keep the FCC from changing it.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of negotiated
Verb
  • Initially, the move signaled a lost season, but the team has since engineered a remarkable midseason turnaround, now firmly back in the American League playoff race.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Four traffic lanes in one structure The team then engineered four different versions of this honeycomb structure.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of engineered
Verb
  • The lawsuit also alleges that Penske and Boehly manipulated and misused California’s nonprofit laws.
    — Andrew Dalton, Fortune, 29 July 2026
  • The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has reported that AI training data and inputs are being manipulated and warned that attackers could influence model behavior by corrupting the information AI systems rely upon.
    — Syed Ali, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of manipulated
Verb
  • The detail arranged the traffic stop on the other side of the island, in front of the Lihue post office, under the assumption that Brun would surrender peacefully in such a public location.
    — Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026
  • After the living room, Birdie wandered to the dining room, where she was cast into an underwater light, the sun sifting through the plants arranged by the long window.
    — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of arranged
Verb
  • Until, of course, the final game (which was not technically the final)… when Brazil contrived to lose a 1-0 lead, and Uruguay triumphed against all odds.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 23 July 2026
  • The British hotel chain Malmaison contrived the United Kingdom’s first prison-into-hotel conversion as part of an urban renewal project at Oxford Castle, situated between Oxford’s train station and shopping district.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 July 2026
Definition of contrived
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

machinate
machinated
machinates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Machinated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinated. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on machinated

Nglish: Translation of machinated for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of invidious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All