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

Derived Forms

• well-designing
  adjective
• designingly
  adverb

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

The concept of Nueva Vida began in 2022; Mendoza previously worked as a stylist for retailers H&M and Gap, though he says he always had an interest in designing his own pieces.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

He told the BBC: "What's really interesting is the technology is an awful lot better at designing vaccines for potential pandemics when viruses are changing."

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Marvell’s business designing custom AI chips —called application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs—was the focus of investors until recently.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

Without those measurements, designing practical devices based on the crystal remained much more difficult.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

While I was in my room designing the logo on the computer, Stan completely chatted up my dad, convincing him to get Kalbro to donate two hundred dollars to the cause.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx