PLOTTING Synonyms: 188 Similar and Opposite Words

plotting 1 of 3

adjective

as in calculating

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Dissimilar Words

plotting

2 of 3

noun

as in scheming

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Dissimilar Words

plotting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of plot

as in planning

to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends mobsters were caught plotting to take over the company

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 plotting

Noun

John Stewart’s exasperated adieu to his alien abductors doubles as a meta acknowledgement of Episode 2’s exposition-heavy plotting. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Aug. 2026 Setting the film on the Canadian frontier rather than the American sets it apart from its peers, and the more languid pacing and character-driven plotting continue to distinguish it as a mannered classic. — David Faris, TheWeek, 21 Aug. 2026 Klausner modeled the show’s intricate plotting on Curb Your Enthusiasm, constructing separate stories that would dovetail at the end of an episode. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026 Then again, there never was with risky plotting predicated on rotation health. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026 In October, 2024, Navalna was found guilty, but of a lesser category of terrorist plotting, and sentenced to eight years in prison, rather than the fifteen that the prosecution had requested. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 But when actually committed to screen, Stuart Fails is painful at nearly every turn, a grim death march through a series of overworn jokes and wall-spaghetti plotting made even less fun with each smugly metafictional turn. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 23 July 2026 Instead the episode begins with Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) plotting. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026 Battle, conspiracy, plotting, and some new faces in the cast. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026

Verb

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 For now, Fearn seems less focused on plotting out a career and more interested in chasing whatever catches his attention next. — Wengel Gemu, Vanity Fair, 27 Aug. 2026 The lesson isn’t that today’s police running license-plate-reading systems are secretly plotting political sabotage. — Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026 The mathematics doctoral student is trying to convince authorities that a Silicon Valley billionaire is plotting domestic nuclear terrorism. — Monitor Reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026 Even the Cinerama Dome is plotting a comeback thanks to Sony and Alamo Drafthouse. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026 Segel also starred opposite Samara Weaving in 2026’s Over Your Dead Body, in which the duo plays a couple who are secretly plotting to kill each other. — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026 While plotting her vengeance, Catherine finds a rare safe space in the home of Alden (Way), a disabled young man whose late mother hired her to be his home-healthcare aide. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026 Charging documents revealed that the teens were allegedly plotting to rob Wright. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plotting

Adjective

Even Alex becomes too entangled in her students’ dealings and ends up suffering at the hands of one of the more calculating boys.

— Rebekah Frumkin, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2019
And experts believe that his intuitive style could throw the more calculating Caruana, who has faced time crunches already in this championship, off-balance.

— Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 27 Nov. 2018

Definition of calculating

Noun

Backstabbing, scheming, secret children showing up to cause trouble, brainwashing, amnesia, terrorist massacres at weddings, and shoulder pads… so, so many shoulder pads.

— Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 2026
Again, this kind of scheming and sabotage has nothing to do with any AI model being conscious.

— Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of scheming

Verb

Instead of managing an entire meal, planning for just dessert and drinks frees you up to tidy the house or relax without standing over a stove for hours before guests arrive.

— Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 25 Aug. 2026
As the weather begins to cool and the corn stalks reach for the sky, farms begin planning for their annual corn maze adventures.

— Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of planning

Adjective

Psyops can be overt or covert, but they’re designed with a clear objective, said Jan Goldman, a professor of intelligence and security studies at The Citadel who has also worked on psyops.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
In a recent presentation, OpenAI researchers described how AI agents used a covert message board to plan their next moves.

— Alex Heath, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of covert

Noun

Combined with stealth and an extensive skill tree, these systems encourage players to adapt rather than rely solely on brute force.

— Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
While the previous games were stealth-focused, Sophia is more aggressive and ready to fight her pursuers rather than just running away.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of stealth

Adjective

In early April 2007, I was invited to a surreptitious dinner with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the orchestra’s president, Deborah Borda.

— Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
The surreptitious approach consists of asking AI to suggest ways to bypass the myriad restrictions.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of surreptitious

Noun

This hermetic secrecy is how Allure beauty director Sarah Kinonen and I recently found ourselves in the bathroom of a suite in the Aman hotel on New York’s Fifth Avenue, brushing our teeth while members of the Dyson public relations team looked on.

— Jenny Bailly, Allure, 1 Sep. 2026
This deal was clearly arrived at in secrecy, with no public debate, and signed under duress.

— Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of secrecy

Adjective

The clandestine manner in which LG monitors were installing ad-pushing software onto third-party devices, however, remains seriously concerning.

— Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026
The clandestine transits have changed the game for the Middle Eastern oil industry.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of clandestine

Browse Nearby Words

plotters

plotting

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

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Synonyms of plotting

adjective

noun

verb

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