Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for Machiavellian
Adjective
  • This folly—which Iran has sternly warned against—is immoral, unjustified, and unlawful.
    Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
  • To argue that their mere presence is proof that the book is dangerous or its author must be as immoral as his characters misses the point.
    Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Hunted by the ruthless crime boss that Don worked for and learned all the boss’s sinister secrets — Perlman plays him — Don has a reason to seek redemption.
    Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Witness Alex Hales’ ruthless removal.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The story of corrupt small-town cops taking on a former Marine was written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier and stars Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.
    Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Delegates and party leaders described it as a corrupt and hypocritical maneuver from the governor.
    Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There are also parallels with the seemingly unscrupulous corporate CEOs.
    Ed Meza, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
  • In the eighth season of Rick and Morty, our unscrupulous genius and his teenage companion get into lots more scraps featuring virtual realities, the Easter Bunny, and an entire planet full of their clones.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Antoni is that rarity who has drawn harsh criticism from economists on the right as well as the mainstream for being ignorant, unprincipled, and incompetent.
    Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
  • She is utterly disillusioned with the ugly transformations of leftist leaders, such as Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Evo Morales of Bolivia, into unprincipled strongmen.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Machiavellian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Machiavellian. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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