as in negotiated
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
he was charged with masterminding a plan to redecorate the suite of offices without seriously disrupting business operations
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Recent Examples of masterminded
The Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled a statue of Pat Riley outside their downtown arena to honor the head coach who masterminded their Showtime championship era.
—
CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The explosive intrigue around Kendall Jenner’s living-room-anchoring chintz floral sectional, masterminded by AD100 designer Heidi Callier, epitomises this shift.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Feb. 2026
Brooks was the coach who masterminded the team’s epic journey to become Olympic champions.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
The event was masterminded by Marco Balich, chairman of Balich Wonder Studio.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 7 Feb. 2026
But for our purposes, what’s important is that Trevor never masterminded any bombings.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
Cho also said that Yoon had masterminded a plan in October 2023 to suspend the powers of South Korea’s parliament and replace it with an emergency legislative body.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025
Cavusoglu also masterminded an editor’s panel.
—Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
Harding is calm under pressure, has run three different newsrooms and, having masterminded Tortoise’s Observer acquisition, now has some commercial chops.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The explosive intrigue around Kendall Jenner’s living-room-anchoring chintz floral sectional, masterminded by AD100 designer Heidi Callier, epitomises this shift.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Feb. 2026
Brooks was the coach who masterminded the team’s epic journey to become Olympic champions.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
The event was masterminded by Marco Balich, chairman of Balich Wonder Studio.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 7 Feb. 2026
But for our purposes, what’s important is that Trevor never masterminded any bombings.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
Cho also said that Yoon had masterminded a plan in October 2023 to suspend the powers of South Korea’s parliament and replace it with an emergency legislative body.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025
Cavusoglu also masterminded an editor’s panel.
—Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
Harding is calm under pressure, has run three different newsrooms and, having masterminded Tortoise’s Observer acquisition, now has some commercial chops.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminded
Verb
-
Andy Bohn negotiated the deal for Greenwich, with CAA Media Finance repping the filmmakers.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Centrist leaders in the United Kingdom, France and Germany resist spending a larger percentage of their strained budgets defending against a Russian threat that their far-right populist opponents might think can be easily negotiated away.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
We were not meant to walk on hard surfaces and aetrex orthotics are engineered to fill in all the spaces between your foot, and the ground to give you complete comfort and relieve foot and back pain.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
How capitalism engineered the reading crisis.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bunk beds are arranged side-by-side for up to four families, frequently putting parents with young children in close quarters.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Bunk beds are arranged side-by-side for up to four families, frequently putting parents with young children in close quarters.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But as his fraudulent crypto empire crumbled in November 2022, the crypto founder plotted a rightward shift.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
24 Feb. 2026
-
They're then plotted into multi-dimensional space.—
Sharyn Alfonsi,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Fix it Melissa Kingston, who serves as City Plan Commissioner for District 14, which includes parts of downtown and Uptown, said Saturday the report was deliberately manipulated to justify demolition rather than preservation.—
Nick Wooten,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Months later, however, there is no public evidence that data has been manipulated, and Mark Hamrick, Bankrate senior economic analyst, said any tampering would likely be detected by private forecasters and civilian employees.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masterminded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminded. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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