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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gamesmanship
Roster-building gamesmanship ensued between the rivals.
—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Smith engaged in such coy gamesmanship ahead of Game 1, even on obvious matters such as his starting goalie.
—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
22 Apr. 2026
Other throwaways made it on the list thanks to Bieber’s gamesmanship or Billboard’s methodological quirks.
—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Maybe Brown kept the pick-and-rolls, the dribble hand-offs, the give-and-go actions tucked as a form of gamesmanship so as to not tip his hand entering the playoffs.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Smith engaged in such coy gamesmanship ahead of Game 1, even on obvious matters such as his starting goalie.
—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
22 Apr. 2026
Other throwaways made it on the list thanks to Bieber’s gamesmanship or Billboard’s methodological quirks.
—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Maybe Brown kept the pick-and-rolls, the dribble hand-offs, the give-and-go actions tucked as a form of gamesmanship so as to not tip his hand entering the playoffs.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gamesmanship
Noun
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So, that's a kind of deception.
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The county argues the grand jury fundamentally misunderstood what happened before the explosion, saying its investigation relied on speculation instead of evidence and wrongly blamed county officials for a criminal enterprise prosecutors say was built on years of deception.
Noun
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The Blacks’ defeat would be certain if not for dragons and subterfuge.
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There is a long history of subterfuge at World Cups — a long history of sharing injury information that isn’t exactly transparent or even accurate.
Noun
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There’s a tremendous amount of financial chicanery that goes on in 2026.
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Not many people, however, concluded that financial chicanery at executive level should be used as a stick with which to beat the players and coaches who had won those trophies over the years in question.
Noun
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Peacock’s adventures in treachery The Traitors was the top dog, scoring five prizes including Best Competition Series and Best Host for Alan Cumming.
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Upon learning of Ava’s treachery, Deborah HOWLS.
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.
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Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.
Noun
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Now, though, summer in the south is so brutal that centuries of architectural trickery is being outmatched, and in the north, houses designed to retain heat during the winter have become furnaces in sweltering summers.
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There's no shame, no trickery—just relief and a chance to rebuild your financial stability.
Noun
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Once there, a combination of Messi’s genius, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s larger-than-life performances, a well-balanced team, and — it must be said — some unsavoury moments of skullduggery by several players, helped Argentina battle their way to the final against defending champions France.
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For this skullduggery-stopping potential, the city paid $67,548, which is in the rough ballpark as what your average cop probably makes annually.
Noun
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All of this shone vividly through his work, which shared his joy, artfulness and deep feeling, and most of all privileged human experience and social interaction.
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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.
Cite this Entry
“Gamesmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gamesmanship. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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