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

Henry Ford shifted this paradigm by designing the Model T as a rugged, universal utility vehicle for the everyday American.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

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

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026

Cadence’s EDA systems include software and hardware for designing, simulating and verifying chips and printed circuit boards before production.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

Until that day, Most sincerely, Stephen Hawking I stayed up pretty late designing jewelry that night.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer