machinating

verb

present participle of machinate
1
as in plotting
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 negotiating
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 machinating
  1. plotting
  2. negotiating
  3. manipulating
  4. arranging
  5. engineering
Verb
  • The mathematics doctoral student is trying to convince authorities that a Silicon Valley billionaire is plotting domestic nuclear terrorism.
    — Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Even the Cinerama Dome is plotting a comeback thanks to Sony and Alamo Drafthouse.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of plotting
Verb
  • Under it, the USAF can issue individual work orders as engines need attention, without negotiating a completely new contract each time.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The author advises negotiating exit terms fiercely, choosing fewer, aligned investors, and building sellable systems from day one, whether or not outside capital is involved.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of negotiating
Verb
  • Sandoval’s ex, Dillon Maquindang, stood at a podium Thursday morning and decried the defendant for cheating on them, manipulating them and taking out his failures on Maquindang’s family.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In recent years, totalizing ideologies such as communism, fascism, and Islamism have found dedicated audiences on social media, and the proliferation of demagogues manipulating people for malign ends is an ever-present worry.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of manipulating
Verb
  • Trump has privately discussed arranging an in-person meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, likely in November, the Journal said, when he is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.
    — Anniek Bao,Lisa Kim, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The musician in charge curates the guest experience, creating the soundtrack, collaborating on food and beverage menus, and arranging one-of-a-kind onsite performances that make a weekend feel like a complete all-access adventure.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of arranging
Verb
  • This strategy enables the immune system to selectively attack tumor cells, either by linking them to T cells or by engineering T cells directly.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • As the co-founder and executive vice chairman of PDS Limited, Seth has spent more than two decades engineering a consumer product platform built specifically to absorb shock.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of engineering
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

machinates
machinating
machination
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Machinating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinating. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on machinating

Nglish: Translation of machinating 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All