<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>a political theory advocating the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli’s <em>The Prince</em>, in which political expediency is placed above morality, and craft and deceit are used to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler</li><li>Machiavellianism</li><li>behavior characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty</li></ul>