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

The focus on metrics also highlights the challenges of measuring the performance of large language models using standardized benchmark tests and concerns that the specs are prone to manipulation and gamesmanship. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026

In fact, McVay playing coy could just be gamesmanship for his respected colleague and fellow head coach, Kyle Shanahan. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Roberts even said Ohtani was not being ruled out as a pinch hitter on Thursday, although that might have been more gamesmanship. — Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026

In some ways, that depends on whether the agent eventually learns guile, and social gamesmanship, or not. — John Werner, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

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