machination
[mak-uh-ney-shuh n]
- an act or instance of machinating.
- Usually machinations. crafty schemes; plots; intrigues.
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Origin of machination
Synonyms
See more synonyms for machination on Thesaurus.com2. stratagem, device.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for machinations
Contemporary Examples
But Flagg, too, comes apart in his machinations, bent ever more fully on political domination.
So perhaps the barbed wire and the machinations of the plot did duty for other obstacles that stood between myself and freedom.
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First MasterpieceJohn le Carré
November 8, 2014
True, not all of these threats can be explained by the machinations of a global organization known as al Qaeda.
To those unaccustomed to the machinations of the UN, this may seem like yet another insignificant and toothless resolution.
Russian Church Patriarch Kirill asked God to intervene to end the machinations of those who wanted to separate Russia and Ukraine.
Historical Examples
What protection had the defenceless child that had been I against these machinations?
The Cruise of the Shining LightNorman Duncan
And, secondly, who is to be the victim of your machinations.
The Hound From The NorthRidgwell Cullum
He shall know of these machinations which bring honest men to this place.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
The result of his machinations must be told in a fresh chapter.
From a Terrace in PragueLieut.-Col. B. Granville Baker
"Against the machinations of a gentleman to whom you have been——" he hesitated for a word.
The Daffodil MysteryEdgar Wallace
machination
- an intrigue, plot, or scheme
- the act of devising plots or schemes
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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 machinations
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper