Brinkmanship

Quick meaning: Brinkmanship is a noun meaning (chiefly politics) The pursuit of an advantage by appearing to be willing to take a matter to the brink (for example, by risking a dangerous policy) rather than to concede a point.

Meaning

(chiefly politics) The pursuit of an advantage by appearing to be willing to take a matter to the brink (for example, by risking a dangerous policy) rather than to concede a point.

Example Sentences

The diplomat accused the other nation’s leader of brinkmanship for refusing to redeploy the troops along their nations’ shared border.

It is high time to look back from the abyss where we are going to step in and give up the brinkmanship until the point of no return is reached.

Debt ceiling brinkmanship in 2011 sent stocks tumbling, slowed economic growth and prompted analysts to downgrade the country’s credit rating for the first time.

The Prime Minister [Tony Blair] is in Belfast today, hoping to repeat his triumph of brinkmanship of last April, when he emerged from an apparent negotiating gridlock with the Good Friday peace agreement.

Word Forms

• brinkmanships
• brinksmanship

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include propaganda, publicity, precipice, hardball, firebrandism, sabre-rattling.

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