as in negotiating
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 masterminding
The former president has since been indicted for masterminding an insurrection, abusing power and attempting treason.
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NPR, 3 Dec. 2025
Read and two other women, including Jennifer McCabe, a suburban soccer mom accused of masterminding the cover-up, found him.
—Michael Ruiz , Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 19 Nov. 2025
The British government has not publicly accused anyone of masterminding the hack.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 10 Nov. 2025
In addition to masterminding homes all over the world, Pentreath worked closely with King Charles to conceptualize and build Poundbury, the urban housing development in Dorset.
—Air Mail, 8 Nov. 2025
Four years later, police accused him of masterminding the killing of Moosewala, a Punjabi icon whose lyrics chronicled the hardships of life on the streets.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
In 1988, the right-wing Cuban terrorist Orlando Bosch arrived in Miami, after serving time in prison for masterminding a series of gruesome bombings.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Polk, a longtime business partner of Jordan who was vice chairman of Hornets Sports & Entertainment when Jordan was the NBA team’s majority owner, is depicted as masterminding efforts to undermine NASCAR.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Adelson was accused of masterminding the plot and enlisting the help of her own son, Charles Adelson, to carry it out.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masterminding
Verb
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Schumer on Saturday persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.—
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Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer argues Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.—
Verb
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Pine works swiftly to gather information on Roper's deal and even forms an alliance with his boss's girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki) who is plotting her own escape.—
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But Izzy Johnston is plotting a way for her Warriors to rise above all those squads.—
Verb
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Resist the Temptation to Dig In The hardest part of building a charcuterie board is avoiding the temptation to start snacking as soon as you’re done arranging the board.—
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As a newcomer to composing and arranging for strings, Simon benefitted greatly by working with a group readily available for consultation and collaboration.—
Verb
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Unlike conventional breaches that hinge on phishing or user error, this exploit, now known as EchoLeak, bypassed human behavior entirely, silently extracting confidential information by manipulating how Copilot interacts with user data.—
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Disney is depicted as manipulating this framework to its benefit and to the detriment of Dish and its customers.—
Cite this Entry
“Masterminding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masterminding. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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