as in calculating
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as in scheming
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as in planning
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
mobsters were caught plotting to take over the company
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Recent Examples of plotting
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
But her character succumbs to Ducournau’s convoluted plotting.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
In its plotting and structure, this often feels less like a series than a two-hour movie that’s been stretched to fill eight 45-minute episodes on the rationale that the latter would be easier to greenlight than the former.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026
Championed by Roger Ebert but ultimately a box-office flop, Stay’s plotting is far too tedious and the characters played by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts too vague for any of it to gel.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Between Duke, Kaulo, and Beckett’s plotting, there are enough moving parts to drive the story toward a climactic, incendiary end.
—Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026
While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kennedy will highlight myriad other men and women who proved crucial to the events that helped set in motion what would lead to America’s independence.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
Not a single critic of the book was struck by the incongruity of this failure in basic thriller plotting.
—Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 13 Apr. 2026
Writing the book was a delight, from research to character development to plotting to drafting.
—Lee Kelly, PEOPLE, 12 Apr. 2026
So in Hacks’s last season, the duo are plotting Deborah’s return to comedy by trying to get her a gig at Madison Square Garden for when her contract is up.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026
Boris is the more vocal and brazen of the two, while Arkady is thoughtful and plotting.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Swig, the ultra-popular dirty soda shop, is plotting another location in Charlotte.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
Such strong characterizations and go-for-broke performances, especially among the women, make up for some decidedly contrived plotting.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026
Former President Jair Bolsonaro was jailed for 27 years for plotting a coup; his eldest son and heir apparent was thrown out of Congress and is living in the US.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
One tells a story of an A-list actress, aided by some of the biggest celebrities in the world who include husband Ryan Reynolds and friend Taylor Swift, plotting to seize control of a director’s passion project.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
But despite Badio’s behind-the-scenes plotting, John insisted that the former official was not the one in charge of the operation.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
But her character succumbs to Ducournau’s convoluted plotting.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
In its plotting and structure, this often feels less like a series than a two-hour movie that’s been stretched to fill eight 45-minute episodes on the rationale that the latter would be easier to greenlight than the former.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026
Championed by Roger Ebert but ultimately a box-office flop, Stay’s plotting is far too tedious and the characters played by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts too vague for any of it to gel.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Between Duke, Kaulo, and Beckett’s plotting, there are enough moving parts to drive the story toward a climactic, incendiary end.
—Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026
While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kennedy will highlight myriad other men and women who proved crucial to the events that helped set in motion what would lead to America’s independence.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
Not a single critic of the book was struck by the incongruity of this failure in basic thriller plotting.
—Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
Orbán also leaves behind a fiscal mess, which the analyst Dalibor Rohac suggests Orbán might be happy to abandon while plotting his comeback.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 13 Apr. 2026
Writing the book was a delight, from research to character development to plotting to drafting.
—Lee Kelly, PEOPLE, 12 Apr. 2026
So in Hacks’s last season, the duo are plotting Deborah’s return to comedy by trying to get her a gig at Madison Square Garden for when her contract is up.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026
Boris is the more vocal and brazen of the two, while Arkady is thoughtful and plotting.
—Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Swig, the ultra-popular dirty soda shop, is plotting another location in Charlotte.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
Such strong characterizations and go-for-broke performances, especially among the women, make up for some decidedly contrived plotting.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026
Former President Jair Bolsonaro was jailed for 27 years for plotting a coup; his eldest son and heir apparent was thrown out of Congress and is living in the US.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
One tells a story of an A-list actress, aided by some of the biggest celebrities in the world who include husband Ryan Reynolds and friend Taylor Swift, plotting to seize control of a director’s passion project.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plotting
Adjective
-
Even Alex becomes too entangled in her students’ dealings and ends up suffering at the hands of one of the more calculating boys.—
Rebekah Frumkin,
Washington Post,
6 Sep. 2019
-
And experts believe that his intuitive style could throw the more calculating Caruana, who has faced time crunches already in this championship, off-balance.—
Joshua Robinson,
WSJ,
27 Nov. 2018
Noun
-
When Ashley handed the fake certificate to Josh, his mind was on his own scheming.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg's job is to sniff out wrongdoing by city workers, and her office's first quarterly report of 2026 revealed a stunning number of findings that involve scamming, scheming, and illegally profiting from work as a city employee.—
Chris Tye,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As a result, South Korean firms Samsung and SK Hynix are planning to ramp up production capacity, which will require ASML machinery.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a newspaper based in a Pittsburgh suburb, had been planning to add staff in Pittsburgh and begin publishing a weekend city edition the week after the Post-Gazette was set to close.—
David Bauder,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Other such discrimination is more covert.—
Alison Somin,
Oc Register,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The hypoallergenic, 100-percent cotton fabric provides a breathable option for covert breastfeeding.—
Pamela Brill,
Parents,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Boasting a combination of nuclear endurance, stealth, speed, and advanced sensors, the USS New Jersey delivers a versatile undersea combat capability.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
-
In a separate incident last week, an F-35 stealth fighter made an emergency landing.—
Chris Looft,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Over the following 12 days, investigators determined that Lulinski had used his cell phone on multiple occasions to take inappropriate and surreptitious photos or videos of minors during normal school activities.—
CBS Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Remember, this is Augusta National, where the surreptitious use of a cellphone is grounds for immediate banishment.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Such spending flourishes in secrecy, and this year’s artificial rush toward a last-minute deal suggests that more giveaways are coming.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
And so a small crop of AI infrastructure firms has sprung up to solve what amounts to AI’s secrecy problem.—
Erik German,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Manson uncovers evidence of two clandestine killer-robot programs, one aerial and the other aquatic, which are being developed in haste.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
-
This biopic — which Cooper also directed and co-wrote — centers on the complex relationship between Bernstein and his wife, the Costa Rican-Chilean actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), while also exploring his clandestine affairs with men.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plotting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plotting. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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