Machiavellian en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- (US) audio
- /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ (UK)
- /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ (UK)
- (US) audio
- /ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ (US)
- /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ (US)
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.
Meanings
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Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics.
Iago is the Machiavellian antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Othello.
The most common reason cited is a Machiavellian one: Police view perjury as a necessary means to achieve the ends of justice.
1999 January, Larry Cunningham, “Taking on Testilying”, in Criminal Justice Ethics, volume 18, →DOI, pages 26–40:These are the actions of a club flailing around to make things work, not the 4D chess moves of some Machiavellian puppet master.
2021 August 5, “Messi’s Departure Is a Mess Everyone Could See Coming”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 05 Aug 2021:
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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."
2006, Paul Rahe, Machiavelli's Liberal Republican Legacy:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| machiavellian | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more Machiavellian | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most Machiavellian | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Machiavellism · Merkelvellian · Machiavellianism
Synonyms
Machiavellistic · Machiavellic
Translations (28)
es maquiavélico (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · ca maquiavèl·lic (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · fr machiavélique (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · de machiavellistisch (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · da machiavellistisk (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · es maquiavélico (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · it machiavelliano (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · ar مَكْيافِلِّيّ (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · el μακιαβελικός (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · fr machiavélien (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · el μακιαβελικός (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · ru макиавеллистический (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · da machiavellistisk (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · ro machiavelic (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · fi machiavellilainen (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · pt maquiavélico (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · pt maquiaveliano (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · it machiavellico (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · fi machiavellilainen (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · sv machiavellisk (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · bg макиаве́лски (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · hy մաքիավելյան (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · eo makiavela (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · hy մաքիավելյան (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli) · fi häikäilemätön (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · fi machiavellimainen (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · bg лукав (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods) · ru макиавеллистический (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods)