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
In Greenberg’s novel, Cherry and Hero are already secret lovers who conspire to thwart the menfolk’s machinations.
—
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The machinations violated the NBA’s salary cap rules.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Montas’ trip to the IL simplifies some roster machinations for this year’s Mets, but losing him as even an option for 2026 or modest eat-most-of-the-money trade bait this winter would hurt.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
So is Blood of My Blood‘s second main thread, in which the machinations of Clan Mackenzie are laid bare.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
His machinations were getting no coverage to speak of, but even at that early stage, Vrabel — Volin noted — was purging the Patriots roster of players connected to his predecessors, one-year head coach Jerod Mayo and before that, legendary head coach Bill Belichick.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Fans of the Mountain West and Pac-12 should attempt to ignore the legal machinations — a court filing here, a statement there — at least until the parties settle or head to trial.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
The Padres, who had perpetrated arguably the most talked-about trade deadline machinations in years, are now firmly in playoff position in a race that is ostensibly down to seven teams for six spots.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Why pull back the curtain on the inner machinations of the athletic department about 24 hours before their most important game of the season?
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2025
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
The machinations violated the NBA’s salary cap rules.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Montas’ trip to the IL simplifies some roster machinations for this year’s Mets, but losing him as even an option for 2026 or modest eat-most-of-the-money trade bait this winter would hurt.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
So is Blood of My Blood‘s second main thread, in which the machinations of Clan Mackenzie are laid bare.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
His machinations were getting no coverage to speak of, but even at that early stage, Vrabel — Volin noted — was purging the Patriots roster of players connected to his predecessors, one-year head coach Jerod Mayo and before that, legendary head coach Bill Belichick.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Fans of the Mountain West and Pac-12 should attempt to ignore the legal machinations — a court filing here, a statement there — at least until the parties settle or head to trial.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
The Padres, who had perpetrated arguably the most talked-about trade deadline machinations in years, are now firmly in playoff position in a race that is ostensibly down to seven teams for six spots.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Why pull back the curtain on the inner machinations of the athletic department about 24 hours before their most important game of the season?
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 25 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinations
Noun
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The lack of action or will to curb this has led some researchers to seriously propose planetary-scale geoengineering schemes.—
Alec Luhn,
Scientific American,
11 Sep. 2025
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But his greedy schemes and her desire to keep her dog immortal led to the downfall of her once-thriving business and turned her into a woman on the run.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Conspiracy theories on Butler shooting persist In more than a year since the shooting and preliminary investigation took place, the FBI has released little additional information about Crooks, opening another avenue for conspiracies to run amok, the New York Times reported.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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The narrowing of communication channels is perhaps the most devastating impact conspiracies can have on a relationship.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Its plots were familiar yet engaging, and its characters were the kind viewers wanted to spend time with week after week.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Visitors span inner-city apartment dwellers who grow herbs on fire escapes and rural families planning orchard plots.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Senior running back/defensive end Ishmaiah Elliott intrigues.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
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For the past four years, Honan has been a worm in Adams’s apple, scoring scoop after scoop about the dramas, inanities, and intrigues of his administration.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Machinations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinations. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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