machiavellian
pronunciation
How to pronounce machiavellian in British English:
UK [ˌmækɪə'velɪən]
How to pronounce machiavellian in American English:
US [ˌmækɪr'velɪrn]
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- Adjective:
- of or relating to Machiavelli or the principles of conduct he recommended
Word Origin
- Machiavellian (adj.)
- "cunning, deceitful, unscrupulous," 1570s, from Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and author of "Il Principe," a work advising rulers to place advantage above morality. A word of abuse in English well before his works were translated ("The Discourses" 1636, "The Prince" 1640), in part because his books were Indexed by the Church, in part because of French attacks on him (such as Gentillet's, translated into English 1602).
Example
- 1. That is financial engineering at its most machiavellian .
- 2. The question is whether he was well served or whether he allowed others , notably karl rove , his machiavellian campaign adviser , undue influence .
- 3. He boasted that in 2014 he would do " the most slippery , unthinkable , machiavellian things denying press credential s , barring access , changing game schedules . "
- 4. Since taking office in 1985 , he has become known by rivals and supporters alike as a machiavellian operator who presided over cambodia 's recovery from civil war and genocide but who also quashed dissent and outmaneuvered opponents .
- 5. Dr bartels and dr pizarro then correlated the results from the trolleyology with those from the personality tests . They found a strong link between utilitarian answers to moral dilemmas ( push the fat guy off the bridge ) and personalities that were psychopathic , machiavellian or tended to view life as meaningless .