Machiavellian

//ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unscrupulous schemer.
  2. 2
    a follower of Machiavelli's principles wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics.

    "Iago is the Machiavellian antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Othello."

  2. 2
    Alternative form of Machiavellian. alt-of, alternative
  3. 3
    Related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli.

    "As Dr. Spalding notes, the connection that Washington drew "between private morality and national character, between virtue and happiness, hardly seems Machiavellian.""

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
actoracuteambidextrousarchartfulartful dodger

Example

More examples

"Tom is a very Machiavellian person."

Etymology

From Machiavelli + -an, from the name of the Italian statesman and writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), whose work The Prince (1532) advises that acquiring and exercising power may require unethical methods.

More for "machiavellian"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.