as in negotiated
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
he was charged with masterminding a plan to redecorate the suite of offices without seriously disrupting business operations
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Recent Examples of masterminded
Court records show Wamuigah participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji of Nigeria.
—
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
As the story goes, fresh off university and broke in 1996, Ralph Anderl, alongside friends Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling, masterminded the screwless invention, decided to apply it to stainless-steel eyewear and wore some prototype pairs to a gallery event in Berlin.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Mar. 2026
What happens to her — a deadly warning from the man’s criminal boss father — sets in motion two generations of retribution masterminded by one of the cruelest characters Burton has given us.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Cuban officials on Friday said the attack had been masterminded by Maritza Lugo Fernandez, an exile and former political prisoner in Cuba.
—David Smiley, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2026
The most wearable take was found at Emilia Wickstead, where brows were brushed up to enhance the very minimal makeup look, masterminded by makeup artist Amy Conway.
—Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2026
The Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled a statue of Pat Riley outside their downtown arena to honor the head coach who masterminded their Showtime championship era.
—CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The explosive intrigue around Kendall Jenner’s living-room-anchoring chintz floral sectional, masterminded by AD100 designer Heidi Callier, epitomises this shift.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Feb. 2026
Brooks was the coach who masterminded the team’s epic journey to become Olympic champions.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
As the story goes, fresh off university and broke in 1996, Ralph Anderl, alongside friends Philipp Haffmans and Harald Gottschling, masterminded the screwless invention, decided to apply it to stainless-steel eyewear and wore some prototype pairs to a gallery event in Berlin.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Mar. 2026
What happens to her — a deadly warning from the man’s criminal boss father — sets in motion two generations of retribution masterminded by one of the cruelest characters Burton has given us.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Cuban officials on Friday said the attack had been masterminded by Maritza Lugo Fernandez, an exile and former political prisoner in Cuba.
—David Smiley, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2026
The most wearable take was found at Emilia Wickstead, where brows were brushed up to enhance the very minimal makeup look, masterminded by makeup artist Amy Conway.
—Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2026
The Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled a statue of Pat Riley outside their downtown arena to honor the head coach who masterminded their Showtime championship era.
—CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The explosive intrigue around Kendall Jenner’s living-room-anchoring chintz floral sectional, masterminded by AD100 designer Heidi Callier, epitomises this shift.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Feb. 2026
Brooks was the coach who masterminded the team’s epic journey to become Olympic champions.
—Patrick Snell, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminded
Verb
-
Verve Talent and Literary Agency’s Amy Beecroft negotiated the deal on behalf of Hideout with Vertical’s Tony Piantedosion.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
-
As someone whose boundaries could be negotiated away.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To overcome these challenges, the researchers engineered a dedicated flight control board centered on an industrial-grade chip and integrated a dual inertial measurement unit system.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Head coach Dusty May has engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Wolverines.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Private museum tours, sandal-making workshops, and boat trips to the nearby islands of Aegina and Kea (where another One&Only opens in 2024) can be arranged.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
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The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf, weighing in at a thousand pages and containing over 1,400 letters (additions to the 3,766 letters that were published in six volumes, edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann, between 1975 and 1980), is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.—
Hermione Lee,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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It’s familiarly plotted, sure, but efficiently acted.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Hodges plotted an aggressive offseason program for the two to take significant steps to playing with more confidence and understanding in 2026.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The examples provided in the letter of events that could be easily manipulated by a single person included whether a kicker would miss a field goal, a quarterback’s first pass being incomplete or a receiver missing their first target.—
Jessica Golden,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
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All the components of Ursa’s dishes are foraged or harvested in the desert and manipulated in surprising and experimental ways.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masterminded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminded. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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