Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To devise (a scheme or plot).
  • intransitive verb To scheme or plot.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To plan, contrive, or form, as a plot or scheme: as, to machinate mischief.
  • To lay plots or schemes.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To contrive, as a plot; to plot.
  • intransitive verb To plan; to contrive; esp., to form a scheme with the purpose of doing harm; to contrive artfully; to plot.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive or intransitive To devise, with others, a plot or secret plan; to conspire.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb arrange by systematic planning and united effort
  • verb engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin māchinārī, māchināt-, to design, contrive, from māchina, device; see machine.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin machinatus, past participle of machinari ("to contrive, plan, devise, plot, scheme"), from machina ("a machine, contrivance, device, scheme"); see machine.

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Examples

  •  Here, I had no buddies to carp with, no enemies to machinate against, only a father who never liked me, and now, didn't even know me.

    Unspoken Bonds 2010

  • “No,” I said, closing my eyes and trying to machinate as Honey-ishly as possible.

    The Little Lady Agency and the Prince Hester Browne 2008

  • “No,” I said, closing my eyes and trying to machinate as Honey-ishly as possible.

    The Little Lady Agency and the Prince Hester Browne 2008

  • Our tax dollars pay for people to sit in a room and machinate about all the likely next horrible things that could happen.

    Kimberly Brooks: Anniversary of Katrina 2008

  • “No,” I said, closing my eyes and trying to machinate as Honey-ishly as possible.

    The Little Lady Agency and the Prince Hester Browne 2008

  • Our tax dollars pay for people to sit in a room and machinate about all the likely next horrible things that could happen.

    Kimberly Brooks: What Else is on the List? 2008

  • Are you all missing the good old days when you could machinate and obfuscate all day long about Mann, the Hockey team and statistical felonies they committed?

    Quelccaya Plant Deposits Again « Climate Audit 2006

  • Are you all missing the good old days when you could machinate and obfuscate all day long about Mann, the Hockey team and statistical felonies they committed?

    Quelccaya Plant Deposits Again « Climate Audit 2006

  • As he lay gathering strength to sit up in bed, which treat had been promised him in ten days, Aladdin's mind worked hard over the future, and what he could machinate in order one day to be almost worthy to kiss the dust under Margaret's feet.

    Aladdin O'Brien Gouverneur Morris 1914

  • He would machinate with really considerable energy, and repair to a certain gallery high above the street of moving ways, from which he could view the entrance to the barrack of the Labour Company in the ward which sheltered Denton and Elizabeth.

    Tales of Space and Time 1906

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