designing 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈzī-niŋ How to pronounce designing (audio)
Definition of designingnext
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means a fraudulent scheme contrived by a group of greedy and designing people

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

designing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of design
1
as in planning
to have in mind as a purpose or goal early on she had designed to a top position in a major insurance company

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in preparing
to work out the details of (something) in advance the foreman designed a better layout for the factory floor to improve efficiency

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 designing
Adjective
Marvell’s business co-designing custom AI chips is usually what gets the most attention. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026 That means brands funding cooling infrastructure, working with workers and unions to establish robust heat-stress protections and co-designing transition plans with workers from the outset. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 5 Dec. 2025
Verb
The trio spent months together in a house designing algorithms to improve how exchanges support trading. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026 Thankfully, Starck showed a bit of restraint when designing the rooms. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 In practice, that might mean designing for informal meetings as well as formal ones. — Brendan Castle, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026 The idea of designing denim around the body, rather than the other way around, carried into the Arc 11 years later. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026 When designing the makeup, Miller also drew inspiration from costume designer Jacqueline Demeterio’s use of the all-white suit and pivotal red dresses later in the film. — Fawnia Soo Hoo, Allure, 5 Oct. 2026 Suburban developers swung hard in the opposite direction, designing large areas around specified activities. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 But while politicians trade barbs, residents in Rio de Janeiro have been designing their own responses, with ex-traffickers launching podcasts and grieving mothers stepping up to stop youth recruitment. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026 That framing, blanket as functional substitute rather than diluted imitation, is what researchers need before designing longer trials. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for designing
  1. cunning
  2. planning
  3. preparing
  4. cute
  5. intending
  6. organizing
  7. slick
  8. arranging
Adjective
  • Magpies are opportunistic scavengers, incredibly cunning and deceitful and capable of calculated deception.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Last week, Alan Cumming’s cunning competition empire The Traitors unsheathed its most diabolical twist yet.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of cunning
Verb
  • Prince William and Prince Harry are both reportedly planning to honor the 30th anniversary of their mother, Princess Diana’s, death.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats have warned in recent months that Trump is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or the National Guard to polling stations, as the president has made election security one of his key objectives in his second term.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of planning
Verb
  • All those killed or missing this week were Nepali nationals preparing for foreign clients to arrive for the Autumn climbing season that began this month.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Another worker was seen preparing food without a proper hair restraint, though this was corrected.
    — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of preparing
Adjective
  • Instead of black tights, try cute little socks or colorful tights.
    — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Solid prewar with 850 square feet of space, a windowed kitchen that’s renovated and kind of cute, a windowed bathroom with a good tub.
    — Nora Deligter, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of cute
Verb
  • In June 2022, a man traveled from California to Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland with a handgun, ammunition, a knife, and zip ties, intending to kill the justice.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Musk originally developed Starship for Mars, intending to launch scores of them with the red planet’s first settlers.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of intending
Verb
  • Bookkeeping is the process of recording and organizing your business's day-to-day financial activity.
    — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, one of the high school student unions involved in organizing the demonstrations, suggested a much larger turnout of 450,000 people across the country.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of organizing
Adjective
  • That calculation is pushing retail technology toward fitting-room innovation rather than slick checkout flows alone.
    — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2026
  • It’s paired with a blend of lightweight sunflower, olive, and jojoba oils that melt down makeup, sunscreen, and excess sebum without leaving skin feeling slick or weighed down.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of slick
Verb
  • Newsom was arranging a tour of Southern states later in the summer, specifically to get his face in front of South Carolinians.
    — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When clients or surrogates travel to California for important medical milestones, Tang and Sonnenberg are often there themselves—arranging schedules, accompanying appointments, and ensuring that days defined by medicine retain a sense of humanity.
    — Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of arranging

Browse Nearby Words

designers
designing
designs
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Cite this Entry

“Designing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/designing. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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