artifice

American  

[ahr-tuh-fis] / ˈɑr tə fɪs /

noun

• artifices
  plural

1. a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile.

   Synonyms:

   subterfuge

2. trickery; guile; craftiness.

   Synonyms:

   duplicity, art, deceit, deception

3. cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness.

   a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.

4. a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

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artifice British  

/ ˈɑːtɪfɪs /

noun

1. a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem

2. crafty or subtle deception

3. skill; cleverness

4. a skilfully contrived device

5. obsolete craftsmanship

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Synonym Usage

See trick. See cunning.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• artifices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of artifice

1525–35; < Anglo-French < Latin artificium craftsmanship, art, craftiness, equivalent to arti-, combining form of ars art ¹ + -fic-, combining form of facere to do ¹, make + -ium + -ium

Explanation

If a politician pretends to be angry as a way of rousing the anger of the voters and getting more votes, he's guilty of artifice — a subtle and crafty trick. Before taking on its current meaning, artifice meant a skilled piece of workmanship. A beautiful diamond bracelet might have been considered a piece of artifice, for example; now it would only be called artifice if the diamonds were fake.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

artifice artifices

He told me, with absolutely no artifice, that what he finds more interesting about the championship is whether Hull would face relegation or if Leeds could finish in the top half of the table.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

As a precision-minded songwriter, she bestowed a kind of emotional dignity on everyday characters in hardscrabble circumstances; as a glittering pop persona, she called constant attention to the artifice of her own A-list stardom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Being aware of the artifice is, to some extent, part of the charm, so we’re not trying desperately to hide that stuff.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

But layer a catchy tune over all that artifice, and the music is the only thing many people will hear.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026

Haydn's aim was the manufacturing of beauty and elegance in the material world; he was conscious that what he was doing was artifice, not a divine intervention.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

But they also find droll humor in the artifices and absurdities that some see in the genre.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

“There are a series of artifices that she builds to create this translation of worlds, to help us see what they see.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

He was charged with one count of fraud schemes and artifices, one count of theft and two counts of false return in September 2020 and pleaded guilty in the case six months ago.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2022

He says that forms are artifices that keep us from being authentic.

From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2018

Upset by the news, José Arcadio Buendía stood motionless, trying to rise above his affliction, until the group dispersed, called away by other artifices, and the puddle of the taciturn Armenian evaporated completely.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• contrivance
• gimmick