as in deception
the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end
that author doesn't go in for literary gamesmanship, so the reader is never led astray by the novel's narrator
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Recent Examples of gamesmanship
Political gamesmanship This week, council members were accused of trying to replace their current coordinator, Laurent Saint-Cyr, who did not back attempts to get rid of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.
—
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Something more and something extra in no small part because of Stewart, whose senses of showmanship and gamesmanship animated and fueled the rivalry for so long.
—Kansas City Star, 6 Dec. 2025
This would not be a new phenomenon—Billboards’ digital sales have been a target for manipulation for several years now, forcing the company to make several tweaks to tamp down on gamesmanship.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 14 Nov. 2025
On the pitch — and across the breadth of the league — matches have been defined by long throws, set pieces and gamesmanship.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Something more and something extra in no small part because of Stewart, whose senses of showmanship and gamesmanship animated and fueled the rivalry for so long.
—Kansas City Star, 6 Dec. 2025
This would not be a new phenomenon—Billboards’ digital sales have been a target for manipulation for several years now, forcing the company to make several tweaks to tamp down on gamesmanship.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 14 Nov. 2025
On the pitch — and across the breadth of the league — matches have been defined by long throws, set pieces and gamesmanship.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gamesmanship
Noun
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Sybiha said Russia uses a range of tactics to recruit foreigners, including financial incentives, deception and coercion.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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The crux of the Democrats’ deception is that repealing 287(g) will make our communities safer.—
Robin Grammer,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For all its cutthroat espionage and subterfuge, The Americans was always a show about family.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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Smiley, working with his colleague Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) narrows his inquiry to five men, including Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) and Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), using clever subterfuge and maneuvering to get the truth.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But even as skeptics label Strategy and the DAT model as a house of cards built on financial chicanery, others view them as early leaders in an emerging category of crypto banks.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
3 Dec. 2025
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The tale away from the playing field in recent years has been dizzying, one of soaring costs and debts, of quirks and chicanery unseen elsewhere.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
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But despite all this, not every Chelsea fan outside his family will regard this transfer as treachery.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Just like the ClickFix attacks, this malicious trickery is all about running commands that almost all users would never think to do in normal circumstances.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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While there’s a little studio trickery, like a drum part taped at a slower tempo but sped up to the BPM in the recording, the rest was due to a perspective shift.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Possible skulduggery on that answer messes with this pick a bit.—
Greg Cote
December 24,
Miami Herald,
24 Dec. 2025
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There was much more to it than that, including some skullduggery along the way.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Mike Bowman, designer, furniture industry expert, and director of marketing for Harmonia Living, says this trend relies on furnishings to bring artfulness to a space—rather than just functionality.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Jan. 2026
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There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gamesmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gamesmanship. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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