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
The decision to defund the lottery, which for the much of this year has been a magnet for criticism in the Legislature on multiple fronts, was seen as legislative gamesmanship when the House in the wee hours of Friday morning passed its version of the state budget.
—
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
With bathroom breaks, the most infamous incident of a player being accused of gamesmanship was Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece clashing at the 2021 U.S. Open.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 8 July 2025
Take all the political gamesmanship out of it, this man is not fit to lead this country.
—arkansasonline.com, 4 July 2025
Until then, both sides have injected a degree of gamesmanship into the final round of talks, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pledging to hold a vote this week in spite of the Democratic opposition.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
With bathroom breaks, the most infamous incident of a player being accused of gamesmanship was Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece clashing at the 2021 U.S. Open.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 8 July 2025
Take all the political gamesmanship out of it, this man is not fit to lead this country.
—arkansasonline.com, 4 July 2025
Until then, both sides have injected a degree of gamesmanship into the final round of talks, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pledging to hold a vote this week in spite of the Democratic opposition.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gamesmanship
Noun
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Interestingly, men, not women, were more open to benevolent deception.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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The movie, with Baranov as its scoundrel tour guide, works its way through some of 21st century Russia’s greatest hits of deception.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Maybe Payton’s running the best preseason subterfuge campaign ever to make Estime look bad on film.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
17 Aug. 2025
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On the other side of this triangle, Conrad has his own Belly-management system, which relies heavily on subterfuge and mostly comes down to attempts to feed her.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Those concerns were laid bare in the discovery process for the defamation case that Dominion Voting Systems took against Fox over false suggestions of fraud and other chicanery aired by guests on the network.—
Niall Stanage,
The Hill,
19 July 2025
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Despite the chicanery, this is a solid deal for a phone that isn’t wildly different from the Pixel 9.—
Janhoi McGregor,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
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When does compromise become treachery or defeat?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
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Could Juno be behind this treachery, as payback for David destroying her spy corporation and for changing his oldest daughter into a killer?—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
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.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Admissions of fraud by the Fox sisters, numerous exposures of trickery and growing secularism meant that interest in communicating with ghosts was rapidly dwindling.—
Alice Vernon
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
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The rooms are packed with high-tech trickery which creates alien-like landscapes.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The American people are seeking solace and inspiration from its leaders, not pettiness and skullduggery.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Aug. 2025
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The Poetry Society becomes the Autobiographical Association, whose ridiculous members write their memoirs under the supervision of the director, a snooty character clearly conniving to use their confessions for some sort of skulduggery.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gamesmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gamesmanship. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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