stratagem
/ˈstratədʒəm
/noun
1A plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve an end: a series of devious stratagems...
- There are conventions and stratagems for achieving the effect, and these are used as necessary.
- Cunning plans, devious stratagems, state-of-the-art conventional forces, and legal and moral proscriptions, can all be helpful.
- Fighting experience taught Soviet commanders a lot: they learned how to use stratagems and achieve surprise.
Synonyms
plan, scheme, tactic, manoeuvre, move, course/line of action, ploy, gambit, device, wile;
trick, ruse, plot, machination, subterfuge, artifice, contrivance, expedient, dodge, deception, deceit
British informal wheeze
Australian informal lurk
archaic shift
1.1 [mass noun] archaic Skill in devising plans or schemes; cunning.The US is effectively addressing the Islamic terror around he globe, through diplomacy, through stratagem and through the use of force depending on ground situation....
- Whether his resignation was tendered because of petulance or careful stratagem, he now has a real measure of the Government's dependence on him.
- This approach emphasizes stratagem and maneuver over firepower and seeks to set the terms of conflict even before the opponent is aware conflict exists.
Origin
Late 15th century (originally denoting a military ploy): from French stratagème, via Latin from Greek stratēgēma, from stratēgein 'be a general', from stratēgos, from stratos 'army' + agein 'to lead'.