"Machiavellian" meaning in English

See Machiavellian in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ [UK], /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ [UK], /ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ [US], /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ [US] Audio: en-us-Machiavellian.ogg , en-us-Machiavellian-2.ogg , en-au-Machiavellian.ogg Forms: more Machiavellian [comparative], most Machiavellian [superlative]
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. Etymology templates: {{af|en|Machiavelli|-an}} Machiavelli + -an Head templates: {{en-adj}} 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. Synonyms: Machiavellic, Machiavellistic, machiavellian Derived forms: Machiavellianism, Machiavellism, Merkelvellian Translations (attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods): مَكْيافِلِّيّ (makyāfilliyy) (Arabic), մաքիավելյան (makʻiavelyan) (Armenian), лукав (lukav) (Bulgarian), maquiavèl·lic (Catalan), machiavellistisk (Danish), makiavela (Esperanto), machiavellimainen (Finnish), machiavellilainen (Finnish), häikäilemätön (Finnish), machiavélique (French), machiavellistisch (German), μακιαβελικός (makiavelikós) (Greek), machiavellico (Italian), maquiavélico (Portuguese), machiavelic (Romanian), макиавеллистический (makiavellističeskij) (Russian), maquiavélico (Spanish), machiavellisk (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-Machiavellian-en-adj-ntVedVCz Disambiguation of 'attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods': 99 1
  2. Related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli. Translations (related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli): մաքիավելյան (makʻiavelyan) (Armenian), machiavellistisk (Danish), machiavellilainen (Finnish), machiavélien (French), μακιαβελικός (makiavelikós) (Greek), machiavelliano (Italian), maquiaveliano (Portuguese), макиавеллистический (makiavellističeskij) (Russian), maquiavélico (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-Machiavellian-en-adj-wNQDM5q8 Disambiguation of 'related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli': 1 99

Noun

IPA: /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ [UK], /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ [UK], /ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ [US], /ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/ [US] Audio: en-us-Machiavellian.ogg , en-us-Machiavellian-2.ogg , en-au-Machiavellian.ogg Forms: Machiavellians [plural]
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. Etymology templates: {{af|en|Machiavelli|-an}} Machiavelli + -an Head templates: {{en-noun}} Machiavellian (plural Machiavellians)
  1. An unscrupulous schemer. Synonyms: Machiavellianist, Machiavellist, Machiavel [archaic, informal]
    Sense id: en-Machiavellian-en-noun-575WOiSc Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -an, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Armenian translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Romanian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 41 6 53 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -an: 40 10 50 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 35 9 56 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 36 12 51 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 34 6 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 25 23 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Armenian translations: 21 23 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 26 20 54 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 24 22 54 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 21 14 65 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 28 15 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 25 19 56 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 32 12 56 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 31 11 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 30 14 55 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 30 7 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 22 17 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 25 19 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Romanian translations: 25 19 56 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 30 7 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 28 6 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 23 22 54

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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    "Requests for review of Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Armenian translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Romanian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Machiavellianism"
    },
    {
      "word": "Machiavellism"
    },
    {
      "word": "Merkelvellian"
    }
  ],
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        "2": "Machiavelli",
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      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more Machiavellian",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most Machiavellian",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "expansion": "Machiavellian (comparative more Machiavellian, superlative most Machiavellian)",
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  "lang": "English",
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  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Iago is the Machiavellian antagonist in William Shakespeare's play Othello.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999 January, Larry Cunningham, “Taking on Testilying”, in Criminal Justice Ethics, volume 18, →DOI, pages 26–40:",
          "text": "The most common reason cited is a Machiavellian one: Police view perjury as a necessary means to achieve the ends of justice.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics or in advancing one's career."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "goal",
          "goal"
        ],
        [
          "cunning",
          "cunning"
        ],
        [
          "scheming",
          "scheming"
        ],
        [
          "unscrupulous",
          "unscrupulous"
        ],
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006, Mark Vernon, “Plato or Machiavelli”, in Philosophy and Life:",
          "text": "It is Machiavellian, in the sense that it revolves around the question of how to maintain power.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "philosophical",
          "philosophical"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/En-us-Machiavellian-2.ogg"
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    {
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "Machiavellic"
    },
    {
      "word": "Machiavellistic"
    },
    {
      "word": "machiavellian"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "makyāfilliyy",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "مَكْيافِلِّيّ"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "makʻiavelyan",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "մաքիավելյան"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "lukav",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "лукав"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "maquiavèl·lic"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellistisk"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "makiavela"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellimainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellilainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "häikäilemätön"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavélique"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellistisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "makiavelikós",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "μακιαβελικός"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellico"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "maquiavélico"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavelic"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "makiavellističeskij",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "макиавеллистический"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "maquiavélico"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods",
      "word": "machiavellisk"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "makʻiavelyan",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "մաքիավելյան"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "machiavellistisk"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "machiavellilainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "machiavélien"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "makiavelikós",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "μακιαβελικός"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "machiavelliano"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "maquiaveliano"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "makiavellističeskij",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "макиавеллистический"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli",
      "word": "maquiavélico"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Niccolò Machiavelli",
    "The Prince"
  ],
  "word": "Machiavellian"
}

{
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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -an",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Requests for review of Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Armenian translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Romanian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
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      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Machiavellians",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machiavellian (plural Machiavellians)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "An unscrupulous schemer."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unscrupulous",
          "unscrupulous"
        ],
        [
          "schemer",
          "schemer"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmɑk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌmæk.jəˈvɛl.i.ən/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/En-us-Machiavellian.ogg"
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "Machiavellianist"
    },
    {
      "word": "Machiavellist"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "informal"
      ],
      "word": "Machiavel"
    },
    {
      "word": "machiavellian"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Niccolò Machiavelli",
    "The Prince"
  ],
  "word": "Machiavellian"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (eaedd02 and 8fbd9e8). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.