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machination

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mach⋅i⋅na⋅tion

  [mak-uh-ney-shuhn]
Use machination in a Sentence
–noun
1. an act or instance of machinating.
2. Usually, machinations. crafty schemes; plots; intrigues.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME machinacion < L māchinātiōn- (s. of māchinātiō). See machinate, -ion

Synonyms:
2. stratagem, device.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mach·i·na·tion   (māk'ə-nā'shən, māsh'-)   
n.  
  1. The act of plotting.
  2. A crafty scheme or cunning design for the accomplishment of a sinister end.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Machination

Mach`i*na"tion\, n. [L. machinatio: cf. F. machination.]

1. The act of machinating. --Shak.

2. That which is devised; a device; a hostile or treacherous scheme; an artful design or plot.

Devilish machinations come to naught. --Milton.

His ingenious machinations had failed. --Macaulay.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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machination 
c.1477, "a plotting, intrigue," from L. machinationem (nom. machinatio) "device, contrivance, machination," from machinatus, pp. of machinari "contrive, plot," from machina (see machine).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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