as in architect
a person who designs and guides a plan or undertaking
the real mastermind behind the embezzlement scheme
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to engineer
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mastermind
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
The court also issued a warrant for Hamas official Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
David Hambling, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Canberra expelled Tehran’s ambassador after accusing Iran of masterminding at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mastermind
Noun
Its director, and franchise mastermind, Rian Johnson has proven himself a master of the whodunnit form with these films, showing a knack for Agatha Christie puzzle-plotting that, well, the actual adapters of Christie haven’t shown in recent years.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
The court also issued a warrant for Hamas official Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Fedorov previously masterminded Ukraine’s DIIA app, ‘the state in your pocket,’ which provides instant access to a wide range of government services.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Canberra expelled Tehran’s ambassador after accusing Iran of masterminding at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mastermind
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mastermind
Noun
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Once rundown and divided into four apartments, this 4,000-square-foot live/work compound was transformed over 18 months by its architect owners, Colin Faber and Leni Niemegeers-Faber, into a family home that feels both modern and timeless.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
16 Sep. 2025
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The new eatery comes courtesy of the same creative team as the first, including Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio and architects Glen & Co.—
Erin Clements,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That insight has guided the team at Typhur, headquartered in San Jose at the heart of Silicon Valley, a location that inspires them to engineer precision with intuitive design.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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The reality is, most commercial language models are generally engineered to always please users, producing answers sometimes at the expense of truth.—
Scott Zoldi,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Its Office for Civil Rights investigates allegations at schools and negotiates corrective actions.—
Fred Clasen-Kelly,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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Looking forward, 185 countries are negotiating a global plastics treaty aimed at ending plastic pollution by 2040, and to promote a closed loop approach, phasing out unnecessary plastics and encouraging the use of sustainable alternatives.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro – who was this week convicted of plotting to overturn his country’s 2022 election and sentenced to more than 27 years in jail – is far from being the first Latin American leader to run into legal trouble.—
Sofía Benavides,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
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Another restructure is being plotted, with a meeting scheduled next week to discuss plans.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In this approach, quantum information is encoded in various properties of photons, and computation is performed by manipulating these photonic states using optical components.—
Gil Press,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Tahoe is obviously getting more aggressive with icon-shape enforcement, up to and including automatically manipulating them and sentencing them to icon jail.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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North was convicted in 1989 on three felony charges for helping to arrange the illicit sale of weapons to Iran and divert the proceeds to fund a secret war against anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Wegovy injection pens arranged in Waterbury, Vermont, US, on Monday, April 28, 2025.—
Karen Gilchrist,Katrina Bishop,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Laura is able to shove Cherry hard enough to pry Daniel away from her and lock her in the room, but Cherry jumps out of the balcony, sacrificing her ankle, and maneuvers herself back into the house.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Macron's opponents seized on the turmoil to press for a fresh legislative election, demand the president's resignation, or maneuver for influence in a potential new government.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mastermind.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mastermind. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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