calculating
Americanadjective
-
capable of or made for performing calculations, especially arithmetical calculations.
a calculating machine.
-
a wise and calculating lawyer.
-
selfishly scheming.
a cold and calculating dictator.
- Synonyms:
- designing
adjective
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selfishly scheming
-
shrewd; cautious
Other Word Forms
- calculatingly adverb
- noncalculating adjective
- uncalculating adjective
- uncalculatingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of calculating
First recorded in 1800–10; calculat(e) + -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What’s more, Nasdaq will multiply that percentage float by three-times, in calculating the weight of a low-float addition to the index.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
This may have been because he was a foreigner, or a calculating businessman, but Ms. Goldring makes the case that it was Holbein’s irreplaceable artistic prowess that kept him in the king’s good graces.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
If this was a crime of passion, it was meticulously laid out, but eventually it was exposed as a cold and calculating house of cards that came crashing down.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
The solution of indexing capital gains to inflation would correct this distortion by adjusting the original purchase price for inflation before calculating taxable gains, ensuring that only genuine appreciation beyond inflation is subject to taxation.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Phil Resch said, “Polokov struck me as cold. Extremely cerebral and calculating; detached.”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
