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
Sixty-five years ago, my grandfather masterminded a robbery at a historic Los Angeles estate.
—
Jennifer Cannon, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026
After reluctantly agreeing to be a temporary adviser, Jobs took over as CEO and masterminded an innovation factory that churned out the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad in a decade-long burst of feverish creativity.
—ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
Court records show Wamuigah participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji of Nigeria.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
As the story goes, fresh off university and broke in 1996, Ralph Anderl, alongside friends Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling, masterminded the screwless invention, decided to apply it to stainless-steel eyewear and wore some prototype pairs to a gallery event in Berlin.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Mar. 2026
What happens to her — a deadly warning from the man’s criminal boss father — sets in motion two generations of retribution masterminded by one of the cruelest characters Burton has given us.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Cuban officials on Friday said the attack had been masterminded by Maritza Lugo Fernandez, an exile and former political prisoner in Cuba.
—David Smiley, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2026
The most wearable take was found at Emilia Wickstead, where brows were brushed up to enhance the very minimal makeup look, masterminded by makeup artist Amy Conway.
—Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 27 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
Jennifer Cannon, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026
After reluctantly agreeing to be a temporary adviser, Jobs took over as CEO and masterminded an innovation factory that churned out the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad in a decade-long burst of feverish creativity.
—ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
Court records show Wamuigah participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji of Nigeria.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
As the story goes, fresh off university and broke in 1996, Ralph Anderl, alongside friends Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling, masterminded the screwless invention, decided to apply it to stainless-steel eyewear and wore some prototype pairs to a gallery event in Berlin.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Mar. 2026
What happens to her — a deadly warning from the man’s criminal boss father — sets in motion two generations of retribution masterminded by one of the cruelest characters Burton has given us.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Cuban officials on Friday said the attack had been masterminded by Maritza Lugo Fernandez, an exile and former political prisoner in Cuba.
—David Smiley, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2026
The most wearable take was found at Emilia Wickstead, where brows were brushed up to enhance the very minimal makeup look, masterminded by makeup artist Amy Conway.
—Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 27 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminded
Verb
-
At the time, Epstein was serving his 18-month sentence in the Palm Beach County stockade but was allowed to spend 12 hours a day, six days a week, in his office under a work-release program his attorneys had negotiated.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Spice levels are negotiated with shorthand, on a scale from one to five.—
Timothy DePeugh,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
To overcome these challenges, the researchers engineered a dedicated flight control board centered on an industrial-grade chip and integrated a dual inertial measurement unit system.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Head coach Dusty May has engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Wolverines.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Private museum tours, sandal-making workshops, and boat trips to the nearby islands of Aegina and Kea (where another One&Only opens in 2024) can be arranged.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf, weighing in at a thousand pages and containing over 1,400 letters (additions to the 3,766 letters that were published in six volumes, edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann, between 1975 and 1980), is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.—
Hermione Lee,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Prosecutors, meanwhile, argue that Clancy carefully planned and plotted before allegedly killing her three children by sending her husband out of the house.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
-
While each episode has carefully plotted character arcs and story lines, the writing for Company Retreat extended far beyond what appears onscreen.—
Angelina Mazza,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Additionally, advanced signal-processing techniques can help identify whether messages are genuinely coming from different sources or are being manipulated by a single malicious actor.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Apr. 2026
-
During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals.—
Assistant Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masterminded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminded. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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