as in schemes
a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends
incredibly complicated machinations to assassinate the president that inevitably failed
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Recent Examples of machinations
The article took a more skeptical look at Springsteen’s rise, and the corporate machinations behind it.
—
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
The announcement on Friday evening draws a line once and for all, without having to go through the messy machinations of a parliamentary intervention, which would have been required to remove the dukedom.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Beyond his extensive acting credits, Nighy has become quietly famous for his no-nonsense opinions on the machinations of life and regular sightings in and around London cafés.
—Olivia Allen, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2025
That is because Deadline is checking out the follow-up to John Morton’s BAFTA-winning BBC satirical comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A, shows that have landed cult status for their excruciating ode to Britishness and in-depth examination of the behind-the-scenes machinations of public institutions.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
The indictment — and the machinations that led to it — are the latest, and arguably most concerning, example of what many legal observers point to as the politicization and weaponization of the department under Bondi.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
Music industry machinations are mostly to blame; a higher supply of albums means more sales, which translates into chart performance and popularity and plain old checks to cash.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 1 Oct. 2025
Through Jesan’s machinations, it is finally revealed that the Queen Dowager and many court officials campaigned for the execution.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
The industry functions on a delicate infrastructure of intimidation, backbiting, and the occasional contract amid endless favors, yanking Aasmaan through its machinations like a rag doll in the wind.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
The announcement on Friday evening draws a line once and for all, without having to go through the messy machinations of a parliamentary intervention, which would have been required to remove the dukedom.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Beyond his extensive acting credits, Nighy has become quietly famous for his no-nonsense opinions on the machinations of life and regular sightings in and around London cafés.
—Olivia Allen, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2025
That is because Deadline is checking out the follow-up to John Morton’s BAFTA-winning BBC satirical comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A, shows that have landed cult status for their excruciating ode to Britishness and in-depth examination of the behind-the-scenes machinations of public institutions.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
The indictment — and the machinations that led to it — are the latest, and arguably most concerning, example of what many legal observers point to as the politicization and weaponization of the department under Bondi.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
Music industry machinations are mostly to blame; a higher supply of albums means more sales, which translates into chart performance and popularity and plain old checks to cash.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 1 Oct. 2025
Through Jesan’s machinations, it is finally revealed that the Queen Dowager and many court officials campaigned for the execution.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
The industry functions on a delicate infrastructure of intimidation, backbiting, and the occasional contract amid endless favors, yanking Aasmaan through its machinations like a rag doll in the wind.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinations
Noun
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The new season finds the Shazam moving company battling corporate giant Zenithon Logistics, while Everett (Jae) drags the team through increasingly desperate schemes such as insurance scams, bogus grant applications and a basement AirBnb conversion gone wrong.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
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The company now has a consumer alert on its website warning visitors of such schemes.—
Emily Lorsch,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But other influencers are using the war as an opportunity to peddle antisemitic conspiracies.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
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Theories about this abound—all have their evidentiary shortcomings—but Greenblatt agrees with a common one that sees Marlowe traveling to France and uncovering Catholic conspiracies against the Crown.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The €25 million (about $27 million) glass-and-stone residence, part coastal hideaway, part statement about where the island’s luxury market is headed, sprawls across three levels on two hillside plots.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
6 Nov. 2025
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There are also 10 plots in Montparnasse cemetery, home to writers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Susan Sontag, as well as 10 more in Montmartre cemetery, where painter Edgar Degas, author Émile Zola and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky are all buried.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Both of those were fine, and Conclave got a boost from the camp potential of its Vatican intrigues, but this new movie suggests that Berger isn’t capable of rising above his source material or, in this case, even meeting it.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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His firepower for short stints on the mound intrigues the Rockies.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Machinations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinations. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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