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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of masterminds
Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 June 2026
The inflatable work includes a sound element created by Thomas Bangalter, one of the two masterminds of the French electronic-music duo Daft Punk, and had been scheduled to be on view from June 6 through June 28.
—Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 3 June 2026
The Bungalow Kitchen comes from masterminds Michael Mina and Brent Bolthouse.
—Nora Heston Tarte, Mercury News, 18 May 2026
These are two elite teams led by masterminds on opposite sides of the ball in Kyle Shanahan and Mike Macdonald.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The pair come off less as cybercriminal masterminds than as galumphing galoots—that is to say, a pair of bumbling oafs who thought that asking AI how to cover their tracks was going to keep them out of federal prison.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026
No criminal masterminds, the brothers had police wanting a chat within days.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Some of the masterminds behind NBC‘s Saturday Night Live Season 51 brought the laughs all the way from Studio 8H to the DGA Theater to break down the process behind keeping the iconic sketch comedy engine running after more than five decades for Deadline Contenders TV.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
The honorary degrees come their way after the Duffer Brothers achieved global success for being the masterminds behind Netflix’s hit horror franchise Stranger Things.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
So, what do the masterminds at Love Island have in mind?
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 June 2026
The inflatable work includes a sound element created by Thomas Bangalter, one of the two masterminds of the French electronic-music duo Daft Punk, and had been scheduled to be on view from June 6 through June 28.
—Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 3 June 2026
The Bungalow Kitchen comes from masterminds Michael Mina and Brent Bolthouse.
—Nora Heston Tarte, Mercury News, 18 May 2026
These are two elite teams led by masterminds on opposite sides of the ball in Kyle Shanahan and Mike Macdonald.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The pair come off less as cybercriminal masterminds than as galumphing galoots—that is to say, a pair of bumbling oafs who thought that asking AI how to cover their tracks was going to keep them out of federal prison.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026
No criminal masterminds, the brothers had police wanting a chat within days.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 11 May 2026
Some of the masterminds behind NBC‘s Saturday Night Live Season 51 brought the laughs all the way from Studio 8H to the DGA Theater to break down the process behind keeping the iconic sketch comedy engine running after more than five decades for Deadline Contenders TV.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
The honorary degrees come their way after the Duffer Brothers achieved global success for being the masterminds behind Netflix’s hit horror franchise Stranger Things.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026
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
-
To alleviate all that blockiness and bulk, the architects chiseled it like a block of marble, shaving here, notching there, bumping out, and pulling in to give it interest in the round.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
4 June 2026
-
Some of Chicago’s most famous and influential architects were immigrants who shaped the city’s skyline era.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Our enterprising Gravedigger, a true woman of science, engineers a lizard elixir and regenerates the finger into a long tentacle that eventually demands a body.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Setup is seamless thanks to AI Sonic Auto Room Calibration, which engineers the audio to your specific space.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Shakespeare’s comedies especially understand the joy of watching people get trapped in schemes and plots well beyond their control.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Goldman here plots the earnings-revisions trend for 2027 among AI-infrastructure plays, energy companies, the overall S & P 500 and the rest of the S & P outside of AI and energy.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The fundraising comes as SpaceX negotiates to pay razor-thin fees to the Wall Street firms, though banks are still likely to rake in about $500 million.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
-
What Senate Bill 3496 would create isn’t a one-time savings event but a durable, compounding mechanism for relief, a pipeline that expands every year as Medicare negotiates more drugs and Illinois extends those savings to everyone, not just seniors.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Crystal’s fluid staging, full of agile and vibrant design choices, smoothly maneuvers the action.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
-
Master maneuvers examiners score highest, such as properly changing lanes, parallel parking and three-point turns.—
Don Sweeney
April 28,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Rams star quarterback manipulates opposing players with his eyes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
-
Williams acknowledges that there are fears about dubbing fixes being the thin end of a wedge that could lead to actors being replaced, even if Flawless’ AI only manipulates the face from the nose down.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Aria even has a musical director, who arranges performances and special events and compiles soundtracks for individual stays.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
4 June 2026
-
Residents Medical arranges rotations with careful attention to specialty alignment.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masterminds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminds. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
