artless

[ahrt-lis]

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adjective

free from deceit, cunning, or craftiness; ingenuous: an artless child.
not artificial; natural; simple; uncontrived: artless beauty; artless charm.
lacking art, knowledge, or skill.

poorly made; inartistic; clumsy; crude: an artless translation.

Origin of artless

First recorded in 1580–90; art¹ + -less

Related formsart·less·ly, adverbart·less·ness, noun

Synonyms for artless

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1. naive, unsophisticated, guileless, open, frank, plain, unaffected, candid, sincere.

Antonyms for artless

1. cunning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for artless

ingenuous, direct, genuine, guileless, honest, innocent, naive, natural, open, plain, pure, sincere, straight, straightforward, unadorned, unaffected, unpretentious, unsophisticated, true, uncontrived

Examples from the Web for artless

Contemporary Examples of artless

Closest as in “closest to her heart,” or something clutched, or something unvarnished, artless, some plain truth?
Three Cheers for Alice Munro’s Nobel Prize in Literature
Malcolm Jones
October 10, 2013
Relevant backstory is condensed into a few lines of artless dialogue.
Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Jobs’ Is Actually Not That Bad
Rob Fishman
August 16, 2013
It was spoken as if by a condemned man: largely devoid of emotion, implausible, halting, artless, and sad.
Four Exes on Tiger
Rebecca Dana
February 19, 2010

Historical Examples of artless

Milza endeavoured, in her own artless way, to soothe the distress her words had excited.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Flora, who had been spoiled and artless long ago, was determined to be spoiled and artless now.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
Some of the inscriptions were so artless as to provoke a smile.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
"I thought you knowed everything, father," said the artless boy.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Edwin had received from nature the gift of an honest and artless eloquence.
Imogen
William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for artless

artless

adjective

free from deceit, guile, or artfulness; ingenuousan artless remark
natural, without artifice; unpretentiousartless elegance
without art or skill

Derived Formsartlessly, adverbartlessness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for artless

adj.

1580s, "unskillful," from art (n.) + -less. Later also "uncultured" (1590s); then "unartificial, natural" (1670s) and "guileless, ingenuous" (1714). Related: Artlessly; artlessness.