gamesmanship

noun

games·​man·​ship ˈgāmz-mən-ˌship 

1

: the art or practice of winning games by questionable expedients without actually violating the rules

2

: the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective

Synonyms of gamesmanship

• deception
• subterfuge
• chicanery
• treachery
• deceptiveness
• trickery
• skulduggery
• artfulness
• jugglery
• secrecy
• cunning

Examples of gamesmanship in a Sentence

They blur the line between gamesmanship and cheating.

that author doesn't go in for literary gamesmanship, so the reader is never led astray by the novel's narrator

Recent Examples on the Web

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

No half measures, and no gamesmanship. —David Brennan, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025

And the gamesmanship’s already flowing. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

games, plural of game entry 1 + -manship (after sportsmanship)

Note: A word popularized and probably originated in this sense by the British author Stephen Potter (1900-69) in The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (1947).

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gamesmanship

• apostleship
• apprenticeship
• assistantship
• championship
• chancellorship
• citizenship
• companionship
• copartnership
• dictatorship
• directorship
• discipleship
• editorship