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Glite Dictionary
♟️ A skilled player 🎲 A gambler 🕴️ A schemer
gamesman

gamesman

8.8
A person who uses clever and sometimes unfair plans to get an advantage in politics or business
  • noun
  • /ˈɡeɪmzˌmæn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : estratega
  • In the world of politics, a skilled gamesman knows how to manipulate situations to gain an advantage.

Examples

  • The CEO is known as a shrewd gamesman who often outmaneuvers his rivals with strategic planning.

  • To succeed in business, you must be a gamesman, able to use clever tactics to stay ahead of the competition.

  • It and, and, and, and so it required a, a, an almost gamesman like approach to whether you buy or not.

  • Berman had been telling the truth; the landlord was a gamesman.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

trickster
vsgamesman
20 6.0

A person who lies to or cheats others, often to have fun

aims more at strategic advantage in serious contexts rather than playful deception
chancer
vsgamesman
  • Offensive
2 8.2

A person who takes risks to get ahead by ignoring rules or being dishonest

prefers planned, calculated tactics in business or politics rather than risky rule breaking
slickster
vsgamesman
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who seems friendly but tricks others to get what they want

leans on strategy and influence rather than personal charm or clever deceit
combinator
vsgamesman
1 9.9

A person who secretly puts different groups together to gain advantage

seeks clever advantage in politics or business rather than only arranging alliances
angler
vsgamesman
  • Offensive
1 8.5

A person who secretly tries to get an advantage by tricking others

uses broader strategic planning and formal influence rather than simple manipulation
finagler
vsgamesman
  • Offensive
9.8

A person who gets things by tricking or lying to others

prefers wider strategic tactics in politics or business rather than mere trickery

Antonyms

honesty
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

integrity
132 4.4

Being whole and not broken, for example in a building or file

How Cunning

manipulator
  • Offensive
24 6.2
schemer
  • Offensive
9 7.0
gamesman
  • Archaic
8.8
tactician
10 7.7
strategist
137 5.1

Surface Forms

gamesman singular
gamesmen plural

Morphology

gamesman = game + man (semi-transparent) = games + man

The compound structure is clear, but the figurative extension to strategic or unethical behaviour is a broader, non-literal sense that may not be immediately obvious to learners.

Etymology

Gamesman comes from game 'play' and man 'person', giving the image of someone who 'plays' people or situations to win, which is why it can mean a clever or sometimes unfair strategist.