gamesmanship

[ geymz-muhn-ship ]

noun

1. the use of methods, especially in a sports contest, that are dubious or seemingly improper but not strictly illegal.
2. the technique or practice of manipulating people or events so as to gain an advantage or outwit one's opponents or competitors.

gamesmanship

/ ˈɡeɪmzmənˌʃɪp /

noun

1. informal.
   the art of winning games or defeating opponents by clever or cunning practices without actually cheating

Derived Forms

• ˈgamesman, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gamesmanship¹

1945–50; game ¹ + -s ³ + -manship, perhaps on the model of sportsmanship

Example Sentences

As Bannon acknowledges, this proposal could still be vulnerable to gamesmanship.

From Washington Post

Election Profit Makers allows a touch of that gamesmanship back in — and it’s a welcome break from the grief and exhaustion many people are experiencing after an election cycle that feels like it’s lasted 1,500 days.

From Ozy

He was sent off after the incident, but Ghana went on to lose, in large part due to his gamesmanship.

From The Daily Beast

It was campaign spin and gamesmanship and seemed to be understood by everyone as such.

From The Daily Beast

All of this is just gamesmanship, but it matters for the purposes of the next debate.

From The Daily Beast

It was another element in the gamesmanship between the sexes.

From The Daily Beast

I think we are involved more in political gamesmanship than in getting them the information they say they want.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• gimmick
• one-upmanship
• ploy
• ruse
• subterfuge
• wile