artifice

[ahr-tuh-fis]

noun

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.

artifice

/ ˈɑːtɪfɪs /

noun

1. a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem

2. crafty or subtle deception

3. skill; cleverness

4. a skilfully contrived device

5. obsolete,  craftsmanship

Word History and Origins

Origin of artifice¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of artifice¹

C16: from Old French, from Latin artificium skill, from artifex one possessed of a specific skill, from ars skill + -fex, from facere to make

Synonym Study

See trick. See cunning.

Related Words

• contrivance 
• gimmick