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scheme

A scheme is an elaborate plan or plot. It's going to take a really solid scheme, probably involving teleportation or some sort of temporary cloning, to make an appearance at both parties at once.

Scheme comes to us from the Latin word for "figure." And it's still used today to refer to a set of drawings and figures used to map out something. Or maybe you’ve heard people talk about something in the scheme of life." In that case they're talking about something fits into the bigger picture. But don't forget that schemes often carry a negative connotation — the word brings to mind devious plans and secret plots organized by scheming bad guys.

DEFINITIONS OF: scheme

n an elaborate and systematic plan of action

Synonyms:: strategy

Types:: show 17 types...; hide 17 types...; contrivance, dodge, stratagem
an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade; counterterrorism
a strategy intended to prevent or counter terrorism; game plan
(sports) a plan for achieving an objective in some sport; game plan
(figurative) a carefully thought out strategy for achieving an objective in war or politics or business or personal affairs; bubble, house of cards
a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control; playbook
a scheme or set of strategies for conducting a business campaign or a political campaign; game, plot, secret plan
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal); pyramid scheme
a fraudulent scheme in which people are recruited to make payments to the person who recruited them while expecting to receive payments from the persons they recruit; when the number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical payment structure the scheme collapses with most of the participants losing the money they put in; waiting game
a strategy of delay; wheeze
(Briticism) a clever or amusing scheme or trick; incentive program, incentive scheme
a formal scheme for inducing someone (as employees) to do something; plant
something planted secretly for discovery by another; pump-and-dump scheme
an illegal scheme for making money by manipulating stock prices; the schemer persuades other people to buy the stock and then sells it himself as soon as the price of the stock rises; wangle, wangling
an instance of accomplishing something by scheming or trickery; counterplan, counterplot
a plot intended to subvert another plot; intrigue, machination
a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends; cabal, conspiracy
a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)

Type of:: plan of action
a plan for actively doing something

n a schematic or preliminary plan

Synonyms:: outline, schema

Type of:: plan, program, programme
a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished

n a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery

Synonyms:: dodge, dodging

Type of:: falsehood, falsity, untruth
a false statement

n a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole

Synonyms:: system

Types:: show 41 types...; hide 41 types...; language system
a system of linguistic units or elements used in a particular language; judicatory, judicature, judicial system, judiciary
the system of law courts that administer justice and constitute the judicial branch of government; economic system, economy
the system of production and distribution and consumption; ecosystem
a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment; social organisation, social organization, social structure, social system, structure
the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships; dragnet
a system of coordinated measures for apprehending (criminals or other individuals); machinery
a system of means and activities whereby a social institution functions; network, web
an interconnected system of things or people; nonlinear system
a system whose performance cannot be described by equations of the first degree; subsystem
a system that is part of some larger system; organism
a system considered analogous in structure or function to a living body; syntax
a systematic orderly arrangement; body
a collection of particulars considered as a system; shebang
an entire system; used in the phrase `the whole shebang'; solar system
the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field; water system
a river and all of its tributaries; root system, rootage
a developed system of roots; reticulum
any fine network (especially one in the body composed of cells or blood vessels); accentual system, prosodic system
the system of accentuation used in a particular language; morphophonemic system
the morphophonemics of a particular language; phonemic system
the system of phonemes recognized in a language; phonologic system, phonological system
the system of phones used in a particular language; syllabicity
the pattern of syllable formation in a particular language; tense system
a system of tenses used in a particular language; feudal system, feudalism
the social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war; patriarchate, patriarchy
a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line; matriarchate, matriarchy
a form of social organization in which a female is the family head and title is traced through the female line; meritocracy
a form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects; Federal Judiciary
the judiciary of the United States which is responsible for interpreting and enforcing federal laws; industrialism
an economic system built on large industries rather than on agriculture or craftsmanship; free enterprise, laissez-faire economy, market economy, private enterprise
an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices; mixed economy
an economic system that combines private and state enterprises; non-market economy
an economy that is not a market economy; state capitalism
an economic system that is primarily capitalistic but there is some degree of government ownership of the means of production; state socialism
an economic system in which the government owns most means of production but some degree of private capitalism is allowed; pluralism
a social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated; class structure
the organization of classes within a society; segregation, separatism
a social system that provides separate facilities for minority groups; espionage network
a network of spies; old boy network
an exclusive informal network linking members of a social class or profession or organization in order to provide connections and information and favors (especially in business or politics); support system
a network of facilities and people who interact and remain in informal communication for mutual assistance; a network that enables you to live in a certain style

Type of:: group, grouping
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit

n an internal representation of the world; an organization of concepts and actions that can be revised by new information about the world

Synonyms:: schema

Type of:: internal representation, mental representation, representation
a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image

v devise a system or form a scheme for

Type of:: plan
make plans for something

v form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner

Synonyms:: connive, intrigue

Type of:: plot
plan secretly, usually something illegal

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