"cunning, deceitful, unscrupulous," 1570s, from Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and author of "Il Principe," a work advising rulers to place advantage above morality. A word of abuse in English well before his works were translated ("The Discourses" 1636, "The Prince" 1640), in part because his books were Indexed by the Church, in part because of French attacks on him (such as Gentillet's, translated into English 1602).
双语例句
1. A Machiavellian plot was suspected.
人们怀疑背后有不可告人的阴谋。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Think of the colossal nerve of the man - the Machiavellian subtlety of his brain.
请想一想这个家伙的异乎寻常的胆量――具有权术家的多端诡计的头脑.
来自辞典例句
3. The board's Machiavellian manoeuvres had given him little choice but to quit.
监事会玩弄权术的花招使柯菲德除了辞职外几乎没有其他选择.
来自互联网
4. Machiavellian and manipulative, the Lords are often maligned.