Machiavellian

See also: machiavellian

English

WOTD – 16 June 2008

Alternative forms

• machiavellian

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/, /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/, /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/

• Audio (US):

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  Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

Machiavellian (comparative more Machiavellian, superlative most Machiavellian)

1. Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics or in advancing one's career.

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

   • 1999 January, Larry Cunningham, “Taking on Testilying”, in Criminal Justice Ethics, volume 18, →DOI, pages 26–40:

     The most common reason cited is a Machiavellian one: Police view perjury as a necessary means to achieve the ends of justice.

2. Related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli.
   • 2006, Mark Vernon, “Plato or Machiavelli”, in Philosophy and Life:

     It is Machiavellian, in the sense that it revolves around the question of how to maintain power.

Synonyms

• Machiavellic
• Machiavellistic

Derived terms

• Machiavellianism
• Machiavellism
• Merkelvellian

Translations

attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods

• Arabic: مَكْيافِلِّيّ (makyāfilliyy)
• Armenian: մաքիավելյան (hy) (makʻiavelyan)
• Bulgarian: лукав (bg) (lukav)
• Catalan: maquiavèl·lic (ca)
• Danish: machiavellistisk
• Esperanto: makiavela
• Finnish: machiavellimainen, machiavellilainen, häikäilemätön (fi)
• French: machiavélique (fr)
• German: machiavellistisch (de)
• Greek: μακιαβελικός (el) (makiavelikós)
• Italian: machiavellico (it)
• Portuguese: maquiavélico (pt)
• Romanian: machiavelic (ro)
• Russian: макиавеллистический (ru) (makiavellističeskij)
• Spanish: maquiavélico
• Swedish: machiavellisk (sv)

related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli

• Armenian: մաքիավելյան (hy) (makʻiavelyan)
• Danish: machiavellistisk
• Finnish: machiavellilainen
• French: machiavélien (fr)
• Greek: μακιαβελικός (el) (makiavelikós)
• Italian: machiavelliano (it)
• Portuguese: maquiaveliano
• Russian: макиавеллистический (ru) (makiavellističeskij)
• Spanish: maquiavélico

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Macedonian: ^{(please verify)} макијавелистички (makijavelistički)

Noun

Machiavellian (plural Machiavellians)

1. An unscrupulous schemer.

Synonyms

• Machiavellianist
• Machiavellist
• Machiavel (informal, archaic)