noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The good attitude/behaviour displayed by players of a game; fairness, determination, magnanimity, courtesy towards opponents, and winning or losing gracefully. uncountable, usually
2. 2
   fairness in following the rules of the game wordnet
3. 3
   The behaviour exhibited in playing sports, either good or bad. uncountable, usually

   "James showed good sportsmanship in consoling Shankar after his wicket fell."

Synonyms

All synonyms

candorcricketfair playfair shakefair-mindednessfairness

Antonyms

All antonyms

mischief

Example

More examples

"Having good sportsmanship is essential to a sports team."

Etymology

From sports + -manship.

Related phrases

good sportpoor sport

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