Synonyms of plotting

plotting 1 of 3

adjective

as in calculating

Related Words

• calculating
• covert
• surreptitious
• clandestine
• secret
• undercover
• furtive
• circular
• concealed
• stealthy
• circuitous
• roundabout
• treacherous
• designing
• Machiavellian
• fraudulent
• serpentine
• scheming
• hypocritical
• sneaky
• hugger-mugger
• deceptive
• oblique
• insincere
• unscrupulous
• deceitful
• backhanded
• underhanded
• dishonest
• underhand
• shifty
• double-dealing
• cunning
• mealy
• insinuating
• crooked
• astute
• shady
• slippery
• crafty
• facile
• subtle
• mealymouthed
• knavish
• wily
• two-faced
• glib
• devious
• artful
• shrewd
• sly
• tricky
• slick
• cagey
• smooth-tongued
• beguiling
• left-handed
• foxy
• cute
• guileful
• sharp
• dodgy

Dissimilar Words

• innocent
• plain
• obvious
• direct
• artless
• real
• public
• open
• guileless
• ingenuous
• simple
• unconcealed
• patent
• natural
• straightforward
• sincere
• unaffected
• undesigning
• outspoken
• honest
• frank
• candid
• forthright
• unvarnished
• unsophisticated
• childlike
• unpretentious
• unpretending
• aboveboard
• trusting
• impressionable
• unworldly
• simpleminded
• unstudied
• unforced
• plainspoken
• trustful

plotting

2 of 3

noun

as in scheming

Related Words

• scheming
• stealth
• secrecy
• design
• dirty pool
• deception
• duplicity
• dirty tricks
• treachery
• hypocrisy
• humbuggery
• deceit
• double-dealing
• fakery
• imposture
• quackery
• crookedness
• subterfuge
• dishonesty
• insincerity
• deceptiveness
• dissimulation
• shrewdness
• guile
• deviousness
• dupery
• sneakiness
• slyness
• cunning
• underhandedness
• trickery
• skulduggery
• chicanery
• craftiness
• deceitfulness
• shiftiness
• slickness
• slipperiness
• crookery
• artfulness
• gamesmanship
• wiliness
• jugglery
• oiliness
• wile
• shadiness
• caginess
• sharpness
• jiggery-pokery
• chicane
• guilefulness
• hanky-panky
• legerdemain
• artifice
• foxiness

Dissimilar Words

• sincerity
• artlessness
• ingenuousness
• guilelessness
• forthrightness
• directness
• openness
• candor
• plainness
• candidness
• plainspokenness

plotting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of plot

as in planning

to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends

mobsters were caught plotting to take over the company

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scheming
• planning
• conspiring
• colluding
• contriving
• conniving
• intriguing
• designing
• devising
• machinating
• engineering
• manipulating
• hatching
• concocting
• compassing
• brewing
• mapping
• maneuvering
• putting up
• jockeying
• counterplotting
• cooking (up)
• shaping
• framing
• laying out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of plotting

Noun

His movies are patient powerhouses that reject conventional movie plotting. — Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

But the uneven nature of the film, its plotting, its character motivations, and its aims only become bigger and bloodier as the film winds on. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026

Deft plotting, vivid characterization, and murky shenanigans power this relentlessly entertaining tale. — Monitor Reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2026

After that, Grace all but disappears from Crystal Lake, exposing the haphazard plotting of a show that refuses to commit. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026

None of this ever accumulates much weight, however, since the conflicts are all dulled by the one-note absurdity of the farcical plotting. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026

Amid a national cinema that has become internationally recognized for perverse plotting and deadpan absurdism, writer-director Alexis Alexiou‘s third feature stands out for its stark storytelling and earnest emotional intensity. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026

Setting the film on the Canadian frontier rather than the American sets it apart from its peers, and the more languid pacing and character-driven plotting continue to distinguish it as a mannered classic. — David Faris, TheWeek, 21 Aug. 2026

Then again, there never was with risky plotting predicated on rotation health. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026

Verb

An Oklahoma man convicted of plotting with his lover to kill her estranged husband 25 years ago was executed Thursday without uttering any final words. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 12 Nov. 2026

In addition, numerous character names pay tribute to ancient antecedents, including the legendary Roman hero Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus and the plotting official Sejanus. — Sophia Zhang, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Nov. 2026

The dust had barely settled on last year’s Torino Film Festival when artistic director Giulio Base began plotting his next move. — Ben Croll, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026

For those who have stood beneath Zion's towering sandstone cliffs and immediately started plotting a return trip, this little pairing is a fun way to keep the scenery close. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026

In the newer episode, the older Darvin travels back in time to assassinate Kirk, plotting his revenge with a bomb implanted in an unfortunate tribble. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Zag and Van Damme have been plotting a movie together for years. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026

Procrastination seems the wrong way to describe stories that connect intricately to each other and would seem to involve more forethought and plotting than a full-length novel. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026

And Rizzetta is plotting an even more prominent trajectory for Napoli Basket. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026