1
as in to plot
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
a trio of courtiers who were discovered to be machinating against the queen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
the hackers machinated a way to steal credit numbers from the company's Web site
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of machinate
But Cleopatra, still machinating away in Alexandria, couldn’t handle the thought of Herod gaining any further traction in Antony’s affections.
—
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 18 Dec. 2019
Now a new scheme described by ProPublica and The Wall Street Journal involves families seemingly machinating to get an unfair leg up in paying for a coveted seat at a university.
—Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinate
Verb
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Was only the first season really plotted out in any meaningful way?—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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Black sharecroppers and tenant farmers were plotting an insurrection.—
Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made by History,
TIME,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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During the meeting, Trump berated Zelensky, accusing him of insufficient gratitude for U.S. military support and pressuring him to negotiate a peace deal with Russia under terms dictated by the Trump administration.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
2 Mar. 2025
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Merz won’t take over as chancellor until after his conservative party has negotiated the formation of a new government with the social democrats—a process that could take weeks if not months.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Throughout the 26-day game, players will build shelter, survive with meager food and hunt their own, compete in exhausting challenges and be forced to scheme and backstab to vote out other players.—
Emily DeLetter,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
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Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who spent eight years in prison on multiple corruption charges, including scheming to sell a vacant Senate seat.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But they had been manipulated by homeowners and businesses, and used to block all kinds of new construction.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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Editing concerns truly manipulating an image, making changes to particular areas, and adding content like text, shapes, or other images on top of the original.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Three years later, Ade arranged a romantic trip to Italy for the couple with the intention of asking Houston to be his wife.—
Megan Pinckney Rutherford,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2025
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And with its intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, arranging, connecting and customizing elements has never been easier.—
Carly Schnurr,
Miami Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Ethical and Business Risk of Algorithmic Appetite Control The question isn’t whether AI can engineer stronger cravings.—
Jason Snyder,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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The prior administration's policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.—
Dr. Allia Vaez,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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And the overt nod to the sinking of the Titanic feels contrived, since there is little obvious connection between the 1912 maritime disaster and the political intrigues of 17th-century Denmark.—
Houman Barekat,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
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Back then, the weather was an easy way to contrive narrative tension for a story whose ending felt too obvious.—
Antonia Hitchens,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Machinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinate. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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