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 hilarious hijinks that ensue are centered on a rugby-playing rascal whose initial interests in pulling chicks and working get-rich-quick schemes give way to a lifelong love of writing poetry in the post-Soviet-occupation era of the 1990s.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2025
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Massive schemes, such as those tied to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, where fraudsters stole over $250 million in pandemic-era school meal aid, are just one chunk of the theft, according to federal prosecutors.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The list of debunks goes on and on and on; moon landing conspiracies, however, have remained persistently popular among some, even inspiring last year’s Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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My starting point when assessing allegations of huge conspiracies is that secrets become exponentially harder to keep for every extra person who knows about them.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Saratoga residents can lease plots annually with the possibility of renewal.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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He is said to have orchestrated the illicit sale of 75 buildings and plots of land between 2021 and 2024.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
28 Oct. 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 5 Nov. 2025.
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