machination
/ˌmækɪˈneɪʃən/
machination means A clever scheme or artful plot, usually crafted for evil purposes. It carries an Arena rating of 1651, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, machination ranks #500 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #671 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,235 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,502 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
machination is pronounced /ˌmækɪˈneɪʃən/.
Why “machination” is a great word
A crafty and intricate scheme or plot, typically one devised for a sinister or deceitful purpose. From Middle English *machynacion*, from Middle French *machination* and directly from Latin *māchinātiōnem* (nominative *māchinātiō*), from *māchinor* ("to devise, contrive, plot"), itself from *māchina* ("machine, contrivance"). Unlike a "scheme," which can be a simple or neutral plan, or a "strategy," a grand and often honorable design, a machination is secrecy given intricate, malicious form. It is the whispered conference in a shadowed antechamber, the deliberate misplacement of a damning letter, the patient rusting of a single, vital bolt—the cold satisfaction of a clockwork trap finally sprung on an unsuspecting world.
Etymology
From Middle English machynacion, machynacyon, from Middle French machination and directly Latin māchinātiōnem, from māchinor (“devise, invent”). By surface analysis, machinate + -ion or machine + -ation.
noun
- A clever scheme or artful plot, usually crafted for evil purposes.
- The act of machinating or plotting.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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