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Machiavellian

//ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən// adj, noun

Definitions

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
Noun
  1. 1
    An unscrupulous schemer.
  2. 2
    a follower of Machiavelli's principles wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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.

See also for "machiavellian"

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