stratagem
Americannoun
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a plan, scheme, or trick for surprising or deceiving an enemy.
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any artifice, ruse, or trick devised or used to attain a goal or to gain an advantage over an adversary or competitor.
business stratagems.
- Synonyms:
- contrivance, maneuver, device, intrigue, deception
noun
Synonym Usage
See trick.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of stratagem
1480–90; (< Middle French stratageme ) < Italian stratagemma war ruse < Latin stratēgēma < Greek stratḗgēma instance of generalship, derivative of stratēgeîn to be in command, derivative of stratēgós military commander ( see strategy)
Explanation
A stratagem is a scheme or a clever plot. You can have a stratagem for winning a chess game, getting the girl (or boy), and avoiding a punishment. However, your opponents, crushes, and parents may have a trick or two of their own. Sometimes a stratagem is a gem of an idea, really clever and worth trying. Great generals start a battle plan with a stratagem, and businesses might have a stratagem for making more money. A stratagem is often a trick or a way to deceive an enemy or get something through a plot or ploy, but it can also mean just a great idea that outwits someone. Your teacher probably has a stratagem for helping you remember and spell words.
Vocabulary lists containing stratagem
Grade 9, List 3
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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The Hobbit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The reverse of the Spider’s Stratagem, in which a son investigates his father’s life, this ambiguous view of terrorism failed to please the public and critics mainly because the crime is not solved.
From The Guardian • Nov. 26, 2018
The much larger Olivier is home to what he calls a 'fiddled about with' version of George Farquhar's 1707 classic comedy The Beaux' Stratagem.
From BBC • Aug. 7, 2015
Call this the Sloan Stratagem, and I promise not to bill you.
From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2012
Mao was a master of the ancient Empty City Stratagem, which seeks to conceal weakness with a show of confidence, even aggression.
From Newsweek • May 15, 2011
Stratagem of the Importunate.—The importunate man gives us gold coins as change for our convention coins, and thereby tries to force us afterwards to treat our convention as an oversight and him as an exception.
From Human, All-Too-Human, Part II by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
