designing

American  

[dih-zahy-ning] / dɪˈzaɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. scheming; intriguing; artful; crafty.

   Synonyms:

   sly, tricky, cunning, wily

2. showing or using forethought.

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noun

1. the act or art of making designs.

designing British  

/ dɪˈzaɪnɪŋ /

adjective

1. artful and scheming; conniving; crafty

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Other Word Forms

• designingly
  adverb
• well-designing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of designing

First recorded in 1610–20; design + -ing ², -ing ¹

Explanation

The adjective designing describes those who secretly scheme to get what they want, even if it means cheating others, like the designing group member who tricks everyone else into doing all the work for their shared project. You might incorrectly assume designing means "creative," in the sense of a fashion designer, but instead of beautiful clothing, the designing person dreams only of his or her own best interests — before anyone else's. Someone who’s designing plans ahead to make sure things go his way, even if it means lying or making other people look bad. A good synonym for designing is scheming.

Example Sentences

"That certainly factored into our thinking around the building of a national centre, as well as the designing of what we've called the 'US Way', which is our strategy for sporting success," he said.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Eighteenth century activities included croquet and designing a custom perfume, all accompanied by fashion photography.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Accurate simulations are essential for designing efficient and reliable laser fusion reactors in the future.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

The three worked at Google designing and selling early generations of its data center and mobile device chips, then later building the custom silicon team at Meta Reality Labs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Even a master architect would have had trouble designing such a structure.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela