schemer

American  

[skee-mer] / ˈski mər /

noun

1. someone who devises plans or plots, especially underhanded ones.

   She is one of the memorable characters in literature, a born schemer and social climber unencumbered by any need to tell the truth.

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Etymology

Origin of schemer

scheme ( def. ) + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

schemer

In case you missed it, WSJ’s The Journal podcast produced an amazing episode based on my coverage of the convicted Ponzi schemer Paul Regan’s scam.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

She won her first film role in 1963’s “13 Frightened Girls” as a diplomat’s daughter but found greater renown as a backstabbing schemer on the ABC soap “Peyton Place” a few years later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Duer was also an inveterate speculator and get-rich-quick schemer: “king of the alley,” as Thomas Jefferson derisively referred External link to Wall Street.

From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026

There may be no better time for a schemer like Ashur to be resurrected from the underworld.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025

“The old schemer was hiding in the woods. I flushed him out of the bushes like a hound flushes out a fox. A merry hunt it was, wouldn’t you say, Eddie, old boy?”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• rascal
• rogue