as in architects
a person who designs and guides a plan or undertaking
the real mastermind behind the embezzlement scheme
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in engineers
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of masterminds
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
Schneider hired Macdonald to beat offensive masterminds in the NFC West like San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Bormann supported extreme antisemitic measures and was one of the masterminds of the Aryanization project.
—Solly Boussidan, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Defensive masterminds like Tony Dungy, Bill Parcells and Mike Tomlin have also led teams to Super Bowls without direct quarterback coaching experience.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Through mentorship circles, masterminds, and deepening relationships with the community, investments can be made in expanding collective wisdom.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Yanick Parent, Guillaume Cartigny, and Mychael Blouin are the masterminds behind the quaint restaurant, creating a boisterous menu of traditional Quebecois foods—usually with a gluttonous upgrade.
—Pamela MacNaughtan, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 Nov. 2025
Fortuna, one of just 18 vessels crafted by the Italian masterminds as part of its Anniversario collection, will give those lucky few the chance to cruise out onto Lago Di Como for around 45 minutes, taking in the Las Vegas sights and the famed Bellagio fountain from a completely new vantage point.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
The San Diego crew allegedly kept a small percentage of the funds and sent the rest to the scheme’s masterminds in India and elsewhere.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2025
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
Bird, one of the masterminds behind the smash hit Gladiators revival for the BBC, is launching EarlyBird while remaining in the Amazon stable by striking a first-look studio deal with the business.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
Schneider hired Macdonald to beat offensive masterminds in the NFC West like San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Bormann supported extreme antisemitic measures and was one of the masterminds of the Aryanization project.
—Solly Boussidan, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Defensive masterminds like Tony Dungy, Bill Parcells and Mike Tomlin have also led teams to Super Bowls without direct quarterback coaching experience.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Through mentorship circles, masterminds, and deepening relationships with the community, investments can be made in expanding collective wisdom.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Yanick Parent, Guillaume Cartigny, and Mychael Blouin are the masterminds behind the quaint restaurant, creating a boisterous menu of traditional Quebecois foods—usually with a gluttonous upgrade.
—Pamela MacNaughtan, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 Nov. 2025
Fortuna, one of just 18 vessels crafted by the Italian masterminds as part of its Anniversario collection, will give those lucky few the chance to cruise out onto Lago Di Como for around 45 minutes, taking in the Las Vegas sights and the famed Bellagio fountain from a completely new vantage point.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
The San Diego crew allegedly kept a small percentage of the funds and sent the rest to the scheme’s masterminds in India and elsewhere.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
The same studio that produced the Godzilla franchise, Toho, masterminds one of the most horrifying and disturbingly humorous psychedelic films to date.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminds
Noun
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After providing the travertine for the Latter-day Saint temple in Rome, Mariotti was chosen by the church’s architects to restore the temple on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
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The South by Southwest Conference and Festival is bringing one of Hollywood’s most enduring architects of film spectacle to its 40th edition.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The official alleged that the paper engineers a finding by excluding evidence and designing a study with a bias toward showing no association.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
16 Jan. 2026
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Big Tech now engineers a perpetual state of insecurity by creating relentless technological churn, rendering our skills and safety measures obsolete, only to then sell us the tools to catch up.—
Vivian Toh,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Goldman Sachs here plots the relative valuation of asset-light over asset-heavy companies, compressing toward zero.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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For cyclists, the Coastal Bike Trail plots out a route to see the city and the harbor on two wheels.—
Carolyn Heller,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Credit counseling Credit counseling agencies can work with you to create a debt management plan that consolidates your payments and negotiates lower interest rates and fees with your creditors.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
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That unit includes Caremark, which negotiates drug discounts with manufacturers on behalf of insurance plans, creates lists of medications, or formularies, that are covered by insurance, and reimburses pharmacies for prescriptions.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But at these Olympics, they’ve been seen from above, as a drone operator — a former ski jumper himself — maneuvers a drone behind a skier at the moment of liftoff, high above the ground.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
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Laura is able to shove Cherry hard enough to pry Daniel away from her and lock her in the room, but Cherry jumps out of the balcony, sacrificing her ankle, and maneuvers herself back into the house.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Just like Rodgers did a decade earlier, Prescott manipulates the flat defender (circled in red) and hits CeeDee Lamb in stride just behind the linebacker.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Throughout the process, the robot simultaneously navigates, avoids obstacles, and manipulates objects without human guidance.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the commercial, Affleck plays Matt Damon's titular character who arranges Munchkins in a Fibonacci sequence and loses his girlfriend to Brady.—
Neal Riley,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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The idea of an in-person meeting is suggested, and several years later, Porter arranges it.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masterminds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminds. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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