plot

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. diagram, plan, outline; field, enclosure, paddock, lot; scheme, conspiracy, intrigue, collusion. See region. —v. conspire, machinate, scheme, intrigue; chart, plan, lay out. See cunning.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [An intrigue]

Syn. conspiracy, scheme, intrigue, machination, cabal, stratagem, plan, design, designs, counterplot, covin; see also intrigue 1 , trick 1 .

2. [The action of a story]

Syn. plan, scheme, outline, design, development, progress, unfolding, movement, story line, climax, denouement, events, incidents, enactment, suspense, structure, build-up, scenario.

3. [A piece of ground]

Syn. parcel, land, division; see area 2 , lot 1 .

Syn.- plot is used of a secret, usually evil, project or scheme, the details of which have been carefully worked out [ the plot to deprive him of his inheritance failed ] ; intrigue , implying more intricate scheming, suggests furtive, underhanded maneuvering, often of an illicit nature [ the intrigues at the royal court ] ; machination stresses deceit and cunning in devising plots or schemes intended to harm someone [ the machinations of the villain ] ; conspiracy suggests a plot in which a number of people plan and act together secretly for an unlawful or harmful purpose [ a conspiracy to seize the throne ] ; cabal suggests a small group of political intriguers v.

1. [To devise an intrigue]

Syn. frame, contrive, scheme; see plan 1 .

2. [To plan]

Syn. sketch, outline, draft; see plan 2 .

3. [To determine a course]

Syn. map out, put forward, propose, outline, consider, plan.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. area of land lot, tract, parcel, subdivision, piece, patch, acreage.

2. scheme conspiracy, plan, machination, design, intrigue.

3. story theme, narrative, design, action, story line.

II

v.

1. scheme conspire, plan, design, machinate, intrigue, collude, maneuver, *make backdoor arrangements.

2. map out chart, draft, lay out, outline.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A piece of land: lot, parcel, tract. See TERRITORY. 2. The series of events and relationships forming the basis of a composition: story, story line. See HAPPEN, WORDS. 3. A secret plan to achieve an evil or illegal end: cabal, collusion, connivance, conspiracy, intrigue, machination, scheme. See CRIMES, PLANNED. II verb 1. To show graphically the direction or location of, as by using coordinates: chart, lay out, map (out). See SHOW. 2. To work out a secret plan to achieve an evil or illegal end: collude, connive, conspire, intrigue, machinate, scheme. See CRIMES, PLANNED.