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plan

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun plan contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of plan are design, plot, project, and scheme. While all these words mean "a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end," plan always implies mental formulation and sometimes graphic representation.

plans for a house

When is design a more appropriate choice than plan?

While in some cases nearly identical to plan, design often suggests a particular pattern and some degree of achieved order or harmony.

a design for a new dress

When could plot be used to replace plan?

While the synonyms plot and plan are close in meaning, plot implies a laying out in clearly distinguished sections with attention to their relations and proportions.

the plot of the play

When is it sensible to use project instead of plan?

In some situations, the words project and plan are roughly equivalent. However, project often stresses imaginative scope and vision.

a project to develop the waterfront

Where would scheme be a reasonable alternative to plan?

The synonyms scheme and plan are sometimes interchangeable, but scheme stresses calculation of the end in view and may apply to a plan motivated by craftiness and self-interest.

a scheme to defraud the government

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of plan
Noun
An Ad Hoc Committee process brought 50 volunteers donating thousands of hours together with untold director time to produce plans to revive the historic stables, restart the community programs of the past, and guide the stables toward a bright and profitable future serving the public. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024 Management acknowledges the substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern, citing plans to raise capital and pursue strategic opportunities. Quartz Bot, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
Verb
Fundamental Hospitality plans to open 100 venues globally in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. over the next five years. Melinda Sheckells, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Nov. 2024 Tribeca plans to release all titles on major streaming platforms, including Kanopy, Kinema, Fandango At Home, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Movies, Xfinity On Demand, DirecTV, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV, Sling TV, Peacock, Plex, XUMO and the Tribeca Channel. Jack Dunn, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for plan 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plan
Noun
  • Simple strategies include: Allowing faster or more aggressive drivers to pass you.
    Glen Koen, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Kemsley will be managed by SVP Claudia Parrinello, Senior Talent Manager Emma Rudd and UK talent boss Minnie Harding, who will head up her UK strategy.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • The goal of this project is to create an archive, through a concerned look, and to keep track of these loves that exist in a society where heterosexuality is over-represented.
    Vogue, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2024
  • Jelly Roll has made significant strides in his health and fitness goals over the last year — and he’s just getting started.
    Rachel DeSantis, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • But a fight in the Pacific is not the only scenario the United States must be prepared for (and, ideally, deter), and readiness in other arenas will require addressing other deficiencies.
    Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024
  • In a nighttime video, a group of men is seen blocking traffic on a highway and slicking the roadway to prepare for the race.
    Antonio Planas, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Her kids are also receiving a more significant portion of the estate than was intended.
    R. Eric Thomas, The Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2024
  • Given the laptop-class CPU and GPU, only the RAM and storage are intended to be readily user-accessible—the chips are locked down and facing toward the cooling system that occupies the other half of the case.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 16 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Trump has disavowed the 900-page blueprint for reorganizing swaths of politics and society along hard-right lines, despite some of his former aides’ involvement in writing it.
    Alexander Smith, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Read More: America's Border Wall Is Bipartisan Over the next decades, other states used Prop 187 as a blueprint, recognizing that even if the laws were struck down, the process of galvanizing support for anti-immigrant measures could be politically useful.
    Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made by History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • For apps whose express purpose is to help people find friends, my matches seemed overwhelmingly uninterested in chatting, let alone meeting up.
    Allie Volpe, Vox, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Brendan’s devotion to his men is inextricable from his purpose in the army, but the lofty Gerry sees it as a weakness.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Plans and Prices Dropbox has four business tiers, each designed for a different productivity type.
    Robert Anderson, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
  • None of them are specifically designed for skiing, winter biking, or any other high-output activity.
    Abigail Barronian, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The alternative is a future too abhorrent for even the most dystopian imaginations at WIRED to contemplate.
    Katie Drummond, WIRED, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Their agreement contemplated alternative dispute mechanisms, including arbitration, to resolve any contractual conflict.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near plan

Cite this Entry

“Plan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plan. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on plan

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