machinate
8 synonyms for machinate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To plan something secretly and often dishonestly.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
First attested in 1537; borrowed from Latin machinātus, perfect active participle of machinor (“to invent, devise; to scheme, plot”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from māchina (“machine, contrivance, device, scheme”), an early borrowing from Ancient Greek. See also machine.
Full origin of machinate →