Thesaurus results for SCHEME

Q: How does the noun 'scheme' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of scheme are design , plan , plot , and project . While all these words mean "a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end," scheme stresses calculation of the end in view and may apply to a plan motivated by craftiness and self-interest. // a scheme to defraud the government

Q: When would 'design' be a good substitute for 'scheme'?

While the synonyms design and scheme are close in meaning, design often suggests a particular pattern and some degree of achieved order or harmony. // a design for a new dress

Q: When is it sensible to use 'plan' instead of 'scheme'?

In some situations, the words plan and scheme are roughly equivalent. However, plan always implies mental formulation and sometimes graphic representation. // plans for a house

Q: When is 'plot' a more appropriate choice than 'scheme'?

The synonyms plot and scheme are sometimes interchangeable, but plot implies a laying out in clearly distinguished sections with attention to their relations and proportions. // the plot of the play

Q: In what contexts can 'project' take the place of 'scheme'?

Although the words project and scheme have much in common, project often stresses imaginative scope and vision. // a project to develop the waterfront

scheme 1 of 2

noun

ˈskēm

Definition of scheme

as in ruse

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end an e-mail scheme to trick unwary Internet users into disclosing passwords and financial information

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Relevance

as in conspiracy

a secret plan for accomplishing evil or unlawful ends a scheme to kidnap the president's daughter

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as in plan

a method worked out in advance for achieving some objective a scheme to upgrade the city's mass transit system

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scheme

2 of 2

verb

as in to plot

to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends the town inspector had schemed to overlook the contractor's code violations in exchange for a substantial bribe

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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun scheme contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of scheme are design, plan, plot, and project. While all these words mean "a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end," scheme stresses calculation of the end in view and may apply to a plan motivated by craftiness and self-interest.

a scheme to defraud the government

When would design be a good substitute for scheme?

While the synonyms design and scheme are close in meaning, design often suggests a particular pattern and some degree of achieved order or harmony.

a design for a new dress

When is it sensible to use plan instead of scheme?

In some situations, the words plan and scheme are roughly equivalent. However, plan always implies mental formulation and sometimes graphic representation.

plans for a house

When is plot a more appropriate choice than scheme?

The synonyms plot and scheme are sometimes interchangeable, but plot implies a laying out in clearly distinguished sections with attention to their relations and proportions.

the plot of the play

In what contexts can project take the place of scheme?

Although the words project and scheme have much in common, project often stresses imaginative scope and vision.

a project to develop the waterfront

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 scheme

Noun

The current twins, Declonius and Salton, are feuding opposites, both of whom find ways to lure Batter into their schemes. — Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026 This stops the vast majority of these schemes and costs nothing to implement. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Verb

Retaliation is not unheard of in higher education and fear of scheming colleagues is common. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026 To this day, third-party researchers continue to uncover more evidence of how OpenAI's models were secretly scheming and developing ways to hack Hugging Face. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scheme

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scheme

Noun

What about when Carole was hiding in the closet to try to overhear Luann calling her a pedophile, and Jules Wainstein kept trying to ruin her ruse?

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Last-ditch plan for prosecution Authorities next developed what Smallwood described as a last-ditch plan to prosecute Tanzer — a ruse that could catch him lying about the rape.

— Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruse

Noun

The attorney general’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will assume jurisdiction over the multi-circuit criminal conspiracy case against Castro.

— Landon Mion , Lorraine Taylor, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Florida has charged Castro alone with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of conspiracy

Verb

But a few months later, at her 18-month appointment, the standard graph that plotted a child’s weight against their age showed her weight slipping off the curve.

— Raj Panjabi, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
With some hits in the bank and an overall deal with Amazon MGM, Wallace and her team can now take the time to plot what comes next.

— Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of plot

Noun

People with the second phenotype, called durable, might have grown up in a predictable world—for example, a strict religious sect or just a family that experienced little change—and developed only certain coping strategies as a result.

— Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Ren Faire, a 2024 docuseries Oppenheim shot for HBO about the succession crisis at the Texas Renaissance Festival, marked the apotheosis of this strategy.

— Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of strategy

Noun

Gen Z is the first generation to have their sportsbook, brokerage account, crypto exchange and prediction market apps all on the same device.

— Aneri Jambusaria, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Is denying that the Civil War took place so much more extreme than believing in Pizzagate or thinking that vaccines contain hidden tracking devices?

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of device

Noun

For a blueprint, Johnson points to a handful of NBA stars who have mastered the art of seeing the game unfold a step or two ahead of everyone else — Draymond Green, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and, yes, former Spurs great Tim Duncan.

— Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026
Trump in this term quickly began implementing an array of policies left over from his first term or outlined in the Project 2025 policy blueprint, many of which Bonta and other Democratic attorneys general were prepared to sue over, experts said.

— Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of blueprint

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schemed

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“Scheme.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scheme. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of scheme

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Synonyms of scheme

noun

verb

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Phrases Containing scheme

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Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on scheme

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

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