counterplot 1 of 2

Definition of counterplotnext

counterplot

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of counterplot
Noun
Bit by bit, the castle at Elsinore (broodingly rendered by scenic designer Lee Savage) turns into a stage for life-and-death plots and counterplots. Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2019 There’s something comforting about the normalcy of plot and counterplot, action and intrigue. Mike Hale, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterplot
Noun
  • The only intrigue at offensive line was the backup center battle between Hudson and Patrick.
    Dan Duggan, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • There is tremendous intrigue around the 30-year-old reliever who celebrates strikeouts with wild jumps off the mound and throws 102 from the left side.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • There’s also growing evidence that building a career inside a firm continues to be a more reliable route to success than trying to plot a path across companies.
    Matthew Bidwell, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Proper later allegedly admitted to plotting the UFC 250 attack and described it in full to the FBI, according to the criminal complaint.
    Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The Heat are expected to carry only 14 players under standard contract at the start of their season, due to their position against the hard cap created by the machinations for the acquisition of Antetokounmpo.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Extrapolating from salacious and rumor-filled ancient sources, the novel offers an inside scoop into the machinations of the first Roman imperial family.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • What makes a roster a championship roster is scheming by accentuating the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Supposedly scheming to raise rents in order to raise broker fees often pegged to rent prices, Compass went to war with Zillow, the most popular free real estate platform that never charges broker fees.
    Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The cover art sets it up perfectly, a dreamlike subterfuge that transforms the Villarreals into mythological Greek heroines.
    Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The subterfuge involved him stowing away in an airport catering container to sneak onto the jet.
    Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Finley’s breakout was the 2017 dark comedy Thoroughbreds, in which Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy play high-schoolers conspiring to kill an abusive stepfather.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
  • That same prose, as rendered by Searls, is evident once again in the new book as the novel’s narrator relates how he was drawn to this mysterious outpost and how the place seems to be conspiring against his leaving there.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • And in a related case, former union executive Tyler Brown pleaded guilty in May 2024 to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
    Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Stewart went to prison for five months after being found guilty on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the sale of a stock.
    Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The simple average of these deliveries is skewed by the 2023 Ashes, where more bouncers were bowled than in any Test on record, with England contriving repeatedly to lose wickets to the ball dug in short.
    Ben Jones Aug. 26, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Prosecutors say the former labor and delivery nurse planned the killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.
    Michael Casey, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Counterplot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterplot. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!