as in negotiating
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 masterminding
Four years later, police accused him of masterminding the killing of Moosewala, a Punjabi icon whose lyrics chronicled the hardships of life on the streets.
—
Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
In 1988, the right-wing Cuban terrorist Orlando Bosch arrived in Miami, after serving time in prison for masterminding a series of gruesome bombings.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Polk, a longtime business partner of Jordan who was vice chairman of Hornets Sports & Entertainment when Jordan was the NBA team’s majority owner, is depicted as masterminding efforts to undermine NASCAR.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Adelson was accused of masterminding the plot and enlisting the help of her own son, Charles Adelson, to carry it out.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Canberra expelled Tehran’s ambassador after accusing Iran of masterminding at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Govan was allegedly to receive 10% for masterminding the plot.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
In 1988, the right-wing Cuban terrorist Orlando Bosch arrived in Miami, after serving time in prison for masterminding a series of gruesome bombings.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Polk, a longtime business partner of Jordan who was vice chairman of Hornets Sports & Entertainment when Jordan was the NBA team’s majority owner, is depicted as masterminding efforts to undermine NASCAR.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Adelson was accused of masterminding the plot and enlisting the help of her own son, Charles Adelson, to carry it out.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Canberra expelled Tehran’s ambassador after accusing Iran of masterminding at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Govan was allegedly to receive 10% for masterminding the plot.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminding
Verb
-
Republicans have not been negotiating.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
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And less than 24 hours after the governor undercut Woodward at LSU, the athletic director was, to no one’s surprise, negotiating his exit strategy from the school.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, the Israeli settler movement is openly plotting a long-term return to Gaza, seeking to reverse the evacuation of 8,000 settlers from the Strip that happened twenty years ago.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Curves plotting model performance against size have begun flattening out.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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E-commerce transactions are managed end-to-end without friction, from building a shopping cart and applying discounts to arranging delivery and processing returns.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
3 Nov. 2025
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Join Chloe Mullen, a junior at Cathedral Catholic High School and member of the National Honor Society, for a special flower arranging workshop.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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By manipulating phase distribution, engineers can craft internal ion highways rather than relying on chance material behavior.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
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This summer, after initially targeting Punch, the president of SZA’s label TDE, Minaj dissed SZA herself on X, mocking her physical appearance, questioning her level of success, and accusing her of manipulating charts with her release of Lana, the deluxe version of 2022’s SOS.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Masterminding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminding. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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