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Machiavellian (adj.)
"cunning, deceitful, habitually duplicitous, unscrupulous, destitute of political morality," 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" in 1636, "The Prince" in 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). Related: Machiavellianism.
updated on October 26, 2018
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Definitions of Machiavellian from WordNet
Dictionary entries near Machiavellian
macerate
maceration
Mach
machete
Machiavelli
Machiavellian
machinable
machinate
machination
machinator
machine