Machiavellian

Machiavellian
adjective Etymology: Niccolo Machiavelli Date: 1572 1. of or relating to Machiavelli or Machiavellianism 2. suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Machiavelli; specifically marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith • Machiavellian noun

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Machiavellian — index artful Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • machiavellian — adjective arch, artful, base, cagey, calculating, canny, cheating, clever, collusive, collusory, conniving, conscienceless, contriving, corrupt, covinous, crafty, crooked, cunning, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, delusive, designing, devious,… …   Law dictionary

  • Machiavellian — (adj.) cunning, deceitful, unscrupulous, 1570s, from Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 1527), Florentine statesman and author of Del Principe, a work advising rulers to place advantage above morality. A word of abuse in English well before his works were …   Etymology dictionary

  • Machiavellian — a noun and adjective denoting a politically devious schemer, is spelt with a capital initial letter and two ls …   Modern English usage

  • Machiavellian — [adj] scheming artful, astute, calculating, conniving, contriving, crafty, cunning, deceitful, devious, expedient, opportunist, plotting, shrewd, sly, underhanded, unscrupulous, wily; concepts 401,545 …   New thesaurus

  • Machiavellian — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous. ORIGIN from the name of the Italian statesman and writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 1527), whose work The Prince (1532) advises that the acquisition and use of power may necessitate unethical… …   English terms dictionary

  • Machiavellian — [mak΄ē ə vel′ē ən, mäk΄ē ə vel′ē ən; mak΄ē əvel′yən] adj. 1. of Machiavelli 2. of, like, or characterized by the political principles and methods of expediency, craftiness, and duplicity set forth in Machiavelli s book, The Prince; crafty,… …   English World dictionary

  • Machiavellian — [[t]mæ̱kiəve̱liən[/t]] ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n (disapproval) If you describe someone as Machiavellian, you are critical of them because they often make clever and secret plans to achieve their aims and are not honest with people. ...Machiavellian… …   English dictionary

  • Machiavellian — 1. adjective /ˌmɒk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən,ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən,ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən,ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ a) Attempting to achieve their goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods. is the Machiavellian antagonist in William Shakespeares play, . b) Related… …   Wiktionary

  • Machiavellian — Machiavelian Mach i*a*vel ian, Machiavellian Mach i*a*vel lian, a. [From Machiavel (also called Machiavelli), an Italian writer, secretary and historiographer to the republic of Florence.] Of or pertaining to Machiavelli, or to his supposed… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Machiavellian — Machiavelian Mach i*a*vel ian, Machiavellian Mach i*a*vel lian, n. One who adopts the principles of Machiavelli; a cunning and unprincipled politician. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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