"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).
雙語例句
1. A Machiavellian plot was suspected.
人們懷疑背后有不可告人的陰謀。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Think of the colossal nerve of the man - the Machiavellian subtlety of his brain.
請想一想這個家伙的異乎尋常的膽量――具有權(quán)術(shù)家的多端詭計的頭腦.
來自辭典例句
3. The board's Machiavellian manoeuvres had given him little choice but to quit.
監(jiān)事會玩弄權(quán)術(shù)的花招使柯菲德除了辭職外幾乎沒有其他選擇.
來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
4. Machiavellian and manipulative, the Lords are often maligned.