stratagem
Americannoun
-
a plan, scheme, or trick for surprising or deceiving an enemy.
-
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
Related Words
See trick.
Other Word Forms
- stratagemical adjective
- stratagemically adverb
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 ( strategy )
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.
We’ll know more about whether the stratagem accomplished anything when the preliminary injunction case goes to a hearing in December.
From Reuters • Oct. 20, 2022
This is a familiar stratagem aimed at making it uneconomic to bring so-called tort lawsuits.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2020
She thinks he’s married, which he doesn’t know, misunderstanding being a routine Astaire and Rogers stratagem, but she’s as drawn to him as he is to her.
From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2020
Critics called this stratagem “greenmail” and condemned it for ignoring the interests of employees, customers and management.
From Washington Post • Sep. 11, 2019
It now appeared that Snowball had not, as the animals had previously imagined, merely attempted to lose the Battle of the Cowshed by means of a stratagem, but had been openly fight-ing on Jones’s side.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
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.
