Machiavellian
/ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/
"machiavellian" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Machiavellian” is uncommon English (frequency #51,836 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #51,836
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Machiavellian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #51,836 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Machiavellian” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Machiavellian is uncommon English at frequency #51,836 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for Machiavellian in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Machiavelli + -an, from the name of the Italian statesman and writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), whose work The Prince (1532) advises that acquiring and exercising power may require unethical methods. The correct English form is Machiavellian, spelled M-A-C-H-I-A-V-E-L-L-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1Attempting to achieve goals by cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous methods, especially in politics.
- 2Related to the philosophical system of Niccolò Machiavelli.
Etymology
From Machiavelli + -an, from the name of the Italian statesman and writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), whose work The Prince (1532) advises that acquiring and exercising power may require unethical methods.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Machiavellian”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-C-H-I-A-V-E-L-L-I-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌmæk.i.əˈvɛl.i.ən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.