stratagem

strat·a·gem

noun \ˈstra-tə-jəm, -ˌjem\

Definition of STRATAGEM

1

a : an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy

b : a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end

2

: skill in ruses or trickery

Examples of STRATAGEM

1. <tried various stratagems to get the cat into the carrier, but the feisty feline was wise to them all>

Origin of STRATAGEM

Italian stratagemma, from Latin strategema, from Greek stratēgēma, from stratēgein to be a general, maneuver, from stratēgos general, from stratos camp, army (akin to Latin stratus, past participle, spread out) + agein to lead — more at stratum, agent

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to STRATAGEM

Synonyms

artifice, device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, trick, wile

Related Words

bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen

See Synonym Discussion at trick

Rhymes with STRATAGEM

ABM, anadem, Angoulême, apothegm, apothem, Bethlehem, diadem, exanthem, fax modem, found poem, ibidem, meristem, OEM, prose poem, SAM, tone poem