Machiavelli

American  

[mak-ee-uh-vel-ee, mah-kyah-vel-lee] / ˌmæk i əˈvɛl i, ˌmɑ kyɑˈvɛl li /

noun

1. Niccolò di Bernardo 1469–1527, Italian statesman, political philosopher, and author.

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Machiavelli British  

/ ˌmækɪəˈvɛlɪ /

noun

1. Niccolò (nikkoˈlɔ). 1469–1527, Florentine statesman and political philosopher; secretary to the war council of the Florentine republic (1498–1512). His most famous work is Il Principe ( The Prince, 1532)

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Example Sentences

The development of modernity, then, consists in increasingly detailed maps of the undiscovered continent that Machiavelli perceived only in part.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Simons charged investors 5% management plus 44% of profits — and billionaires who negotiate prenups that would make Machiavelli weep begged to get in.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 15, 2025

The cast of Renaissance characters is also large and somewhat ungainly, populated with outsize historical players that include Michelangelo, Savonarola, Raphael, Niccolò Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia, various popes, assorted Medicis and many more.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2024

In his famous 16th-century book The Prince, Machiavelli lays out an ultra-pragmatic, no-holds-barred account of how to succeed in politics.

From Salon • Oct. 3, 2024

We are all bits and pieces of history and literature and international law, Byron, Tom Paine, Machiavelli, or Christ, it's here.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury