machiavellism · noun — machiavellianism. It carries an Arena rating of 1138, earned across 74 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, machiavellism ranks #588 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #892 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,110 of 17,177 for Most Incisive Words, #3,175 of 17,172 for Scariest Words.
Why “machiavellism” is a great word
MACHIAVELLISM — [Noun] The political doctrine advocating the use of cunning, duplicity, and unscrupulous methods to maintain power. From the name of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), Italian political philosopher, + the English suffix -ism, denoting a system, principle, or ideological movement. Unlike Realpolitik, which denotes a state's pragmatic, amoral strategy grounded in material factors, or idealism, which pursues ethical principles often at the expense of efficacy, Machiavellism implies a personal, theatrical amorality—the calculated performance of necessary evil. It is the cold advice that it is better to be feared than loved, the strategically broken promise to a rival, and the smile worn as pure instrument, not expression; a grim testament to the fact that in the study of power, the most enduring textbooks are written not by saints, but by successful princes.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Machiavelli + -ism.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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