as in conspiracy
a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends
incredibly complicated machinations to assassinate the president that inevitably failed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of machination
As the film tracks Clark Kent navigating a public increasingly skeptical of Superman's unchecked strength — while Lex Luthor’s machinations test the limits of truth, tech, and influence — Gathegi’s Mister Terrific operates in the grey area where ethics meet engineering.
—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
In real life, are those machinations in play?
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025
The machinations of American bureaucracy were too slow to keep up.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
For all its machinations, the track works.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for machination
Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
In real life, are those machinations in play?
—William Earl, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025
The machinations of American bureaucracy were too slow to keep up.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
For all its machinations, the track works.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for machination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machination
Noun
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In the show, Lower, 40, plays Helly Riggs/Helena Eagan, who tries to uncover the company's web of conspiracies with her coworkers.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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In their charging documents, prosecutors allege Maduro, his wife and his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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According to the indictment, Cuellar devised the scheme to operate a for-profit business with resources from the county sheriff's office without reimbursing the county.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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Greenlee hid the scheme from her employer by concealing bank statements, despite several requests for them from the winery’s accountant, and changing the email address associated with the bank account, according to the district attorney’s office.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Port Authority’s deputy executive director role has been unfilled since the Bridgegate scandal in 2013, when then-Deputy Director Bill Baroni became embroiled in the Chris Christie-era plot to inflict traffic on the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, NJ.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
24 Jan. 2026
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As in many horror films of this type, plot holes start to form.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Machination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machination. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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