artifice

[ ahr-tuh-fis ]

/ ˈɑr tə fɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR artifice ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

trickery; guile; craftiness.

cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness: a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.

a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

Nearby words

articulatory phonetics, artie, artifact, artifacting, artifactitious, artifice, artificer, artificial, artificial aid, artificial aids, artificial blood

Origin of artifice

1525–35; < Anglo-French < Latin artificium craftsmanship, art, craftiness, equivalent to arti-, combining form of ars art¹ + -fic-, combining form of facere to do¹, make + -ium + -ium

SYNONYMS FOR artifice

1 subterfuge.

2 deception, deceit, art, duplicity.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR artifice ON THESAURUS.COM

Synonym study

1. See trick. 2. See cunning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for artifice

There is usually something transparent about the artifice required by famous artists trying to remain current.
The Many Lives of Artist David Hockney|William O’Connor|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The collection is by turn bizarre, hilarious, unpredictable, all of it without a single note of artifice.
Khaled Hosseini’s Favorite Story Collections|Khaled Hosseini|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Where Raphael constructed ideal women and made them seem normal and necessary, Dürer constructs ideal works of art and artifice.
Durer, A 'Natural' Genius for Art|Blake Gopnik|May 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He is unfailingly polite and contrite, still slightly awkward with the artifice of campaigning after all these years.
South Carolina Street Fight in First District Congressional Primary|John Avlon|March 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Of course, these photos also emphasize the artifice that lies behind documentation.
Photography's Heavy Lifting|Blake Gopnik|October 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The capture of Tarentum, though effected by artifice more than valour, was considered honourable to Fabius.
History of Rome, Vol III|Titus Livius
What he could obtain by negociations or by artifice, he required not by force of arms.
Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 276|Various
By that artifice he secured all the remaining property of the unhappy sufferers for his own use.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03|Various
In the whole course of the education of her son and daughter, she has pursued a system of artifice.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)|Maria Edgeworth
It is not a matter of artifice and simulation; it is a matter of being genuine and not a sham.
Shadows of the Stage|William Winter

British Dictionary definitions for artifice

artifice

/ (ˈɑːtɪfɪs) /

noun

a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem

crafty or subtle deception

skill; cleverness

a skilfully contrived device

obsolete craftsmanship

Word Origin for artifice

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012