gamesmanship

[geymz-muh n-ship]

See more synonyms for gamesmanship on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Origin of gamesmanship

1945–50; game¹ + -s³ + -manship, perhaps on the model of sportsmanship

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gamesmanship

fairness, honesty, virtue, sincerity, gamesmanship, ploy, ruse, one-upmanship, subterfuge, wile, gimmick, righteousness, principle, goodness, honor, cunning, artfulness, competition, cutthroat, brainchild

Examples from the Web for gamesmanship

Contemporary Examples of gamesmanship

He was sent off after the incident, but Ghana went on to lose, in large part due to his gamesmanship.
Luis Suarez, Uruguay’s Notorious Soccer Vampire, Strikes Again—Biting Italian in World Cup Win
Tunku Varadarajan
June 24, 2014
It was campaign spin and gamesmanship and seemed to be understood by everyone as such.
When Campaign Spin Becomes Fact
Stuart Stevens
March 21, 2014
All of this is just gamesmanship, but it matters for the purposes of the next debate.
Obama on Benghazi
Michael Tomasky
October 17, 2012
It was another element in the gamesmanship between the sexes.
Helen Gurley Brown’s Fashion Sense: the Power of Cleavage
Robin Givhan
August 14, 2012
No filibuster, no gamesmanship, a nice, clean vote—something Congress rarely does.
Supercommittee, Super Stakes
Eleanor Clift
November 3, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for gamesmanship

gamesmanship

noun

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

Derived Formsgamesman, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012