as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
tried various stratagems to get the cat into the carrier, but the feisty feline was wise to them all
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Recent Examples of stratagem
The competitors are in a trancelike state, building a stratagem.
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Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
Not according to Hinch and Our Man Petzold, who reports the strategy is part of the Tigers’ plan to maximize the effectiveness of their opener/bulk-relief stratagem.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 23 Sep. 2024
Hindenburg, in his mid-eighties and growing weak, became fed up with Schleicher’s Machiavellian stratagems and dispensed with him as Chancellor.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
In this scheme, the batteries provide the burst of power needed to take off, a stratagem that lets technicians tune the fuel-burning engine to run at its ideal rate.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 June 2018
See All Example Sentences for stratagem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stratagem
Noun
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Jean’s mama saw through the ruse but misread it.—
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Posing as a door-to-door accountant looking for clients just before noon Thursday, Suresh knocked on several doors to cover up his ruse before arriving at the victim’s house, according to police.—
Noun
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Genians, which uncovered the fake ID scheme, said this latest case underscores just how much generative AI has changed the game.—
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The crackdown is part of a broader scheme.—
Noun
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The most exciting feature is the realistic mask, though, which has mesh eyes for kids to see through while trick-or-treating, and an adjustable strap to fit their head properly.—
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Perhaps most frustrating, two Johnson attempts to dig into his trick bag misfired.—
Cite this Entry
“Stratagem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stratagem. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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