Main Entry: ar·ti·fice

Pronunciation: \ˈär-tə-fəs\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle French, from Latin artificium, from artific-, artifex artificer, from Latin art-, ars + facere

Date: circa 1604

1 a : clever or artful skill : ingenuity <believing that characters had to be created from within rather than with artifice — Garson Kanin> b : an ingenious device or expedient
2 a : an artful stratagem : trick b : false or insincere behavior <social artifice>

synonyms see trick, art