Dictionary.com
definitions

machination

[ mak-uh-ney-shuhn ]
/ ˌmæk əˈneɪ ʃən /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR machination ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of machinating.
Usually machinations. crafty schemes; plots; intrigues.

RELATED WORDS

stratagem, conspiracy, ploy, intrigue, ruse, dodge, cabal, sellout, practice, trick, design, artifice, device, scheme, skullduggery

Nearby words

  1. machida,
  2. machilid,
  3. machilipatnam,
  4. machinable,
  5. machinate,
  6. machinations,
  7. machinator,
  8. machine,
  9. machine bolt,
  10. machine code

Origin of machination

1375–1425; late Middle English machinacion < Latin māchinātiōn- (stem of māchinātiō). See machinate, -ion
Related formsan·ti·mach·i·na·tion, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for machination

British Dictionary definitions for machination

machination

/ (ˌmækɪˈneɪʃən, ˌmæʃ-) /

noun

an intrigue, plot, or scheme
the act of devising plots or schemes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for machination

machination

n.

late 15c., "a plotting, intrigue," from Old French machinacion "plot, conspiracy, scheming, intrigue," from Latin machinationem (nominative machinatio) "device, contrivance, machination," noun of action from past participle stem of machinari "contrive skillfully, to design; to scheme, to plot," from machina (see machine). Related: Machinations.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper