machination
Definitions
A cunning, secret plot or scheme intended to do harm or gain advantage (usually plural).
阴谋，诡计（多用复数）。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin machinari (to contrive, scheme), itself from machina (device). A machination is, literally, a 'device' — but the cunning, secret kind. It keeps the old sense of mēkhanē as a clever contrivance, applied to plots rather than engines. Almost always plural and negative.
Root machin still carries 4 more wordsWhy It Means This
Machination is the sly cousin of machine. Both come from mēkhanē, a 'device' — but where machine kept the honest, mechanical sense, machination kept the other half: a device of the mind, a cunning contrivance worked in secret. That's why it pairs so naturally with 'behind-the-scenes': just as stagehands once operated the hidden machina, a schemer operates hidden plots.
Usage Guide
Almost always used in the plural (machinations) and with a negative, conspiratorial tone. Common collocations: behind-the-scenes machinations, political machinations, the machinations of someone. Quite formal/literary.
Example Sentences
- 1.
He rose to power through years of quiet machination.
- 2.
The novel exposes the machinations of a corrupt court.
- 3.
She fell victim to the machinations of her rivals.
Easily Confused
machination vs scheme vs plot — All mean a planned secret design. Plot is the everyday word (a plot to overthrow). Scheme can be neutral or shady (a clever scheme). Machination is the most formal and always sinister, stressing cunning, intricate, behind-the-scenes manoeuvring.