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
All of these machinations have been so alive in my head for so long.
—
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 9 June 2026
Should Wiggins opt into the final season on his contract, he then could be subbed in for Herro in the machinations of a Giannis deal.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2026
Humankind doesn’t need to fully grasp the inner machinations.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Fortunately, the plot machinations demand that Tova sprain her ankle early in the film, which gives the otherwise ageless Field the excuse to limp or shuffle around in a walking boot.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2026
Changing the way people move The machinations that go into trying to plan simultaneous transactions can be mind-boggling.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Thanks to the machinations of In the City confessional filming, Lindsay was on a coach in front of a green screen, and Kyle was in the building.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Democrats have questioned whether Vance’s role would bring political machinations into decisions prosecutors and investigators make about what cases to pursue.
—Andrew Graham
may 27, Sacbee.com, 27 May 2026
Those intentions prove to be relatively short-lived, as personal tragedy and political machinations eventually drove both men down their familiar old paths.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 9 June 2026
Should Wiggins opt into the final season on his contract, he then could be subbed in for Herro in the machinations of a Giannis deal.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2026
Humankind doesn’t need to fully grasp the inner machinations.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Fortunately, the plot machinations demand that Tova sprain her ankle early in the film, which gives the otherwise ageless Field the excuse to limp or shuffle around in a walking boot.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2026
Changing the way people move The machinations that go into trying to plan simultaneous transactions can be mind-boggling.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Thanks to the machinations of In the City confessional filming, Lindsay was on a coach in front of a green screen, and Kyle was in the building.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Democrats have questioned whether Vance’s role would bring political machinations into decisions prosecutors and investigators make about what cases to pursue.
—Andrew Graham
may 27, Sacbee.com, 27 May 2026
Those intentions prove to be relatively short-lived, as personal tragedy and political machinations eventually drove both men down their familiar old paths.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinations
Noun
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According to the police report, a woman also reportedly claimed to be a victim of one of Chen's check-cashing schemes, alleging that she was scammed out of $40,000 after Chen wrote her bad checks from a man's account, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
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Madigan, meanwhile, was convicted in a separate trial of an array of schemes that included the ComEd bribery payments.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
Noun
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The photo of Kyle and Amanda leaving the reunion and laughing went viral, which also set off some conspiracies among the very normal fandom of these shows.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
17 June 2026
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He was found guilty on seven counts, including multiple fraud and money-laundering conspiracies.—
Camila Grigera Naón,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Noun
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More action means more to unpack, like incestuous bloodlines, secret plots that have been years in the making, the rapidly shifting alliances, and how to tell all the silver-haired Targaryens apart.—
Nic Juarez,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
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When some of your books have been adapted to film or television, the plots have often gone off in whole different directions.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
Noun
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Netflix announced a second melodrama last December, about the secrets and intrigues of an elite Rio de Janeiro family, created in partnership with Amaia Produções and Conspiração, with general direction by Mauro Mendonça Filho.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
25 May 2026
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The rich textures and thick ambiance of The Eyes of Others are pure high modernist 1960s Italian cinema, but De Sica unfurls the film’s winding intrigues with a contemporary sense of suspense, carnality, and visual boldness.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Machinations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinations. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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