as in calculating
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as in scheming
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as in planning
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
mobsters were caught plotting to take over the company
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Recent Examples of plotting
Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
In its plotting and structure, this often feels less like a series than a two-hour movie that’s been stretched to fill eight 45-minute episodes on the rationale that the latter would be easier to greenlight than the former.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026
Championed by Roger Ebert but ultimately a box-office flop, Stay’s plotting is far too tedious and the characters played by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts too vague for any of it to gel.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Between Duke, Kaulo, and Beckett’s plotting, there are enough moving parts to drive the story toward a climactic, incendiary end.
—Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026
While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kennedy will highlight myriad other men and women who proved crucial to the events that helped set in motion what would lead to America’s independence.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
Not a single critic of the book was struck by the incongruity of this failure in basic thriller plotting.
—Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Antisemites like Bowers had co-opted the phrase to describe Jews broadly as agents of evil plotting against white Christians.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 29 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Cam is quietly plotting to reclaim his post, turning every misstep into ammunition.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2026
The director and star are plotting a reunion for a poignant baseball dramedy feature that’s already attracted multiple studio bidders, Variety has learned.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.
—Marcos Breton, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
By the halfway point of the AT, the family was already plotting their Triple Crown.
—David Gleisner, Outside, 24 Mar. 2026
There were no allegations in the complaint that Holmes was actually plotting any violence.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Camus’s conspiracy that a cabal of powerful elites is plotting a great replacement to ensure the exploitation and domination of low- and middle-income White people is nothing short of a grand distraction.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Taylor has been plotting with the Chanel team for some time now.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
Noun
But her character succumbs to Ducournau’s convoluted plotting.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
In its plotting and structure, this often feels less like a series than a two-hour movie that’s been stretched to fill eight 45-minute episodes on the rationale that the latter would be easier to greenlight than the former.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026
Championed by Roger Ebert but ultimately a box-office flop, Stay’s plotting is far too tedious and the characters played by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts too vague for any of it to gel.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Between Duke, Kaulo, and Beckett’s plotting, there are enough moving parts to drive the story toward a climactic, incendiary end.
—Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026
While Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, Kennedy will highlight myriad other men and women who proved crucial to the events that helped set in motion what would lead to America’s independence.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
Not a single critic of the book was struck by the incongruity of this failure in basic thriller plotting.
—Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Antisemites like Bowers had co-opted the phrase to describe Jews broadly as agents of evil plotting against white Christians.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
In Minnesota, a man was sentenced to life in prison for plotting the murder of a real estate agent in part by luring her to a bogus showing.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 29 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Cam is quietly plotting to reclaim his post, turning every misstep into ammunition.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 26 Mar. 2026
The director and star are plotting a reunion for a poignant baseball dramedy feature that’s already attracted multiple studio bidders, Variety has learned.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.
—Marcos Breton, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
By the halfway point of the AT, the family was already plotting their Triple Crown.
—David Gleisner, Outside, 24 Mar. 2026
There were no allegations in the complaint that Holmes was actually plotting any violence.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Camus’s conspiracy that a cabal of powerful elites is plotting a great replacement to ensure the exploitation and domination of low- and middle-income White people is nothing short of a grand distraction.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Taylor has been plotting with the Chanel team for some time now.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plotting
Adjective
-
Even Alex becomes too entangled in her students’ dealings and ends up suffering at the hands of one of the more calculating boys.—
Rebekah Frumkin,
Washington Post,
6 Sep. 2019
-
And experts believe that his intuitive style could throw the more calculating Caruana, who has faced time crunches already in this championship, off-balance.—
Joshua Robinson,
WSJ,
27 Nov. 2018
Noun
-
There’s some scheming and double-crossing, and a major shootout, of course.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Unfortunately, Daines’ scheming, stick-it-to-the-voters approach isn’t just a Montana Republican thing.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After suffering a brutal knockout at UFC Seattle, Maycee Barber is already planning her comeback.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Browne’s family is planning an event honoring him in mid-May.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Her covert affair with Davis became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist wrote a detailed account of their relationship in early 1958, including their plans to wed, despite their denials.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2026
-
While Iran is not known to have any interests in Uganda, it has been accused of covert operations in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, including the running of smuggling networks and making controversial diplomatic and economic outreach with questionable motives throughout the region.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In a separate incident last week, an F-35 stealth fighter made an emergency landing.—
Chris Looft,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
To preserve stealth and the element of surprise, the operators might create a staging ground several miles from their objective, which might include building a makeshift landing strip.—
Sheena Samu,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Welcome to the era of surreptitious seafood, an industry gamble that overcoming Americans’ relative disinterest in the meat of the sea is all a matter of making fish look and taste less like, well, fish.—
J.m. Hirsch,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The filmmakers and inmates carried out this investigation in secret, through anonymous phone calls and surreptitious recordings, ultimately revealing systemic rot inside a sadistic prison system.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
White rejects that the NDAs created secrecy.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The Republicans requested precinct-level voting to ensure ballot secrecy, Evans has said.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Emergency passports handed off at clandestine locations.—
Shannon K. Kingston,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Jerkins’ family operation included his cousin, Robert Smith, known as Big Bert, with whom Brandy began a clandestine relationship as the recording progressed.—
Jackson Howard,
Pitchfork,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plotting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plotting. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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