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

They set about designing the fastest car they can based on objective data.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Insights like this are essential for designing materials that can superconduct at higher temperatures.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

Purdue’s attorneys said in court that the company played no role in designing the claims process.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026

Victory Giant, which was already listed in Shenzhen, specializes in designing and manufacturing high-end PCBs for artificial intelligence, servers and automotive electronics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

The engineers for designing any structures that might be needed.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor