Machiavellian

adjective

ˌma-kē-ə-ˈve-lē-ən How to pronounce Machiavellian (audio)
Definition of Machiavelliannext
as in immoral
not guided by or showing a concern for what is right yet another tale of a power-mad dictator with a Machiavellian plan to take over the world

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for Machiavellian
  1. immoral
  2. ruthless
  3. corrupt
  4. unscrupulous
  5. unprincipled
Adjective
  • Growing shares in each party describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent than other Americans.
    NBC News, NBC News, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Last week’s interview saw CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil speak with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his new book The Message, which passionately argues that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is immoral and should be condemned.
    Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Oct. 2024
Definition of immoral
Adjective
  • But on the other hand, the data so far suggests that Wolves have a ruthless finisher on their hands.
    Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The headhunter without ethics is really the ruthless Kim Hye-jin, played by Park Bo-kyung.
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025
Definition of ruthless
Adjective
  • The essential modern text is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that equates money with speech, resulting in an ever more corrupt system of campaign finance.
    David Remnick, The New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2025
  • The cases also highlighted a broken system of police discipline that allegedly protected corrupt officers and punished those who tried to expose the corruption.
    Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025
Definition of corrupt
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, unscrupulous vendors avoid inspections and zoning laws, often preparing food in unsanitary apartments or closed restaurants.
    John Murn, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2025
  • One year ago, a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians, stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power.
    The New York Times, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of unscrupulous
Adjective
  • Objective voters who watched the recent documentary about Lev Parnas, once a Trump ally, should fear a redux of a Cabinet running the government for an angry, unhinged, unprincipled man.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 1 Oct. 2024
  • All of this coincided with a period of unprincipled practices in the media.
    Meg Walters, Glamour, 20 Nov. 2024
Definition of unprincipled
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near Machiavellian

machetes

Machiavellian

machinate

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Machiavellian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Machiavellian. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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