as in concocting
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
she quickly devised a new scheme when the first one failed
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Recent Examples of devising
And commissioners spent all that time devising the College Sports Commission in an attempt to stabilize the NIL/portal market, then sit back and let one school in their conference steal yet another star QB half an hour before the portal closes.
—
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
Companies are actively devising strategies to counteract muscle loss in people taking the drugs.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 29 Dec. 2025
Sondheim got to work at eight o’clock one night, devising a version of the murder game in which all the players would have to use their wits to untangle the mystery.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
With no one to help, Watney spends his solitary days tinkering — devising a way to grow potatoes in Martian soil, jury-rigging equipment, and solving one problem after another.
—Big Think, 26 Nov. 2025
Jesse Minter, the man tasked with devising a plan to slow down Rodgers when the Chargers play host to the Steelers on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, will be 43 on May 9.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Yet, after its ratification in 1870, Southern states set about trying to circumvent the amendment's intent by devising new ways to shape, control, and limit voting.
—Time, 29 Oct. 2025
For 39 years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has required redistricting institutions to consider racial and ethnic minority representation when devising congressional districts.
—Sam D. Hayes, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2025
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
Companies are actively devising strategies to counteract muscle loss in people taking the drugs.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 29 Dec. 2025
Sondheim got to work at eight o’clock one night, devising a version of the murder game in which all the players would have to use their wits to untangle the mystery.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
With no one to help, Watney spends his solitary days tinkering — devising a way to grow potatoes in Martian soil, jury-rigging equipment, and solving one problem after another.
—Big Think, 26 Nov. 2025
Jesse Minter, the man tasked with devising a plan to slow down Rodgers when the Chargers play host to the Steelers on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, will be 43 on May 9.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2025
Yet, after its ratification in 1870, Southern states set about trying to circumvent the amendment's intent by devising new ways to shape, control, and limit voting.
—Time, 29 Oct. 2025
For 39 years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has required redistricting institutions to consider racial and ethnic minority representation when devising congressional districts.
—Sam D. Hayes, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devising
Verb
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The reality is that the AI is concocting elaborate personas, faking as though humans are writing about human woes.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Both activities can be fairly ordinary hobbies—games of imagination not so different from crushing on a pop star or concocting stories about a film protagonist.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The transactions function purely as a salary dump and an attempt to recoup draft picks, all for the purpose of constructing a roster around Flagg.—
Mike Curtis,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
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As a former college hoops player, Kansan and Jayhawk, Woodland would know what to look for in constructing a starting five.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tell that to Soren Sorensen (Sam) Adams, the Danish immigrant who is credited with inventing many of the same contraptions, along with some six hundred others, including sneezing powder and the joy buzzer.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Teachers are not inventing problems.—
Lance Walters,
Washington Post,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As more people prioritize long-term health and wellness, interior designers are seeing a surge in requests for designing separate sleep spaces.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
7 Feb. 2026
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Since so much work has already been completed, architects have been tasked with designing the best and least wasteful way of using the infrastructure that's already built.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devising. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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