machination

noun

mach·​i·​na·​tion ˌma-kə-ˈnā-shən 

ˌma-shə-

1

: an act of machinating

2

: a scheming or crafty action or artful design intended to accomplish some usually evil end

backstage machinations … that have dominated the film industry

—Peter Bogdanovich

Synonyms

• conspiracy
• design
• intrigue
• plot
• scheme

Choose the Right Synonym for machination

plot, intrigue, machination, conspiracy, cabal mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end.

plot implies careful foresight in planning a complex scheme.

an assassination plot

intrigue suggests secret underhanded maneuvering in an atmosphere of duplicity.

backstairs intrigue

machination implies a contriving of annoyances, injuries, or evils by indirect means.

the machinations of a party boss

conspiracy implies a secret agreement among several people usually involving treason or great treachery.

a conspiracy to fix prices

cabal typically applies to political intrigue involving persons of some eminence.

a cabal among powerful senators

Examples of machination in a Sentence

incredibly complicated machinations to assassinate the president that inevitably failed

Recent Examples on the Web

Neither the stage production nor the musical can do much with the melodramatic Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz who becomes a key player in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz’s fascist machinations. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

Both the book and the Broadway version ultimately span years of plot machinations, but the Wicked film has chopped the story in half to handle its heft; Part 2 is set to arrive in theaters next year. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2024

Also starring Ken Leung, Sagar Radia and Sarah Parish, Industry charts the goings-on at fictional bank Pierpoint, with a focus on the lives and Machiavellian machinations of Yasmin, Myha’la’s Harper Stern and Lawtey’s Robert Spearing. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024

The primary point is not to pull the proverbial wool over one’s eyes on the problems with Amazon’s machinations. —Steven Aquino, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1