1
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
the artful lawyer got the witness to admit he had been lying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inventive
showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing
that kitchen gadget is an artful tool for extracting cherry pits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in virtuoso
accomplished with trained ability
that was an artful way to handle a very delicate situation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of artful
The organizers’ artful choreography of attendees won’t be limited to one evening, as the weekend will stretch beyond the ceremony, to a cavalcade of soirees, some of them aboard Bezos’ $500 million yacht, Koru.
—
Beth Landman, HollywoodReporter, 21 June 2025
The same can be said for 3.1 Phillip Lim’s T-shirt, updated with artful draping.
—Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 20 June 2025
The beer hasn’t changed, but the artful limited-edition packaging shines a spotlight on these iconic parks.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Outside Online, 6 June 2025
But the tender, artful balladry and sorcerous studio experimentation that cemented his legacy are totally sui generis for the genre, comprising an act of emotional and creative bravery so rare and beautiful in American culture that it has never been successfully imitated.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for artful
Beth Landman, HollywoodReporter, 21 June 2025
The same can be said for 3.1 Phillip Lim’s T-shirt, updated with artful draping.
—Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 20 June 2025
The beer hasn’t changed, but the artful limited-edition packaging shines a spotlight on these iconic parks.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Outside Online, 6 June 2025
But the tender, artful balladry and sorcerous studio experimentation that cemented his legacy are totally sui generis for the genre, comprising an act of emotional and creative bravery so rare and beautiful in American culture that it has never been successfully imitated.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for artful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artful
Adjective
-
The Residence starred Uzo Aduba as quirky detective Cordelia Cupp, who uses her cunning intellect and obsessive bird-watching abilities to crack otherwise unsolvable cases.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
2 July 2025
-
As for steps that could be taken in the nineteenth century, Lyell managed to invent a cunning way to determine the relative age of geological strata.—
Lewis Hyde,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
Readers raved about the inventive New Mexican cuisine and the destination’s natural beauty—sitting at 7,000 feet, Santa Fe is at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year.—
Elizabeth Cantrell,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
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Whatever happens thereafter in David and Leslie Newman’s inventive and energetic script is inevitably some thing of a letdown although — not much.—
Arthur Knight,
HollywoodReporter,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
Oh, and the best pairs of the bunch are also plain old comfy (and cute, in a gorpcore kind of way).—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
7 July 2025
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July 6, 2025: Rodman watching Shelton’s match at Wimbledon is so cute the ESPN announcer literally giggles trying to talk about them.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
Light, clever, and just leftfield enough to feel like a proper find.—
Lela London,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
Dubno’s novel sounds equally thoughtful and nasty, clever and juicy and full of great drama.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Finnegans Wake, in his skillful hands, is a tapestry of all the works Joyce ever wrote, the final and protracted project of a writer who could never stop thinking about Ireland.—
Eric Bulson,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2025
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Their smart, aggressive defense disorients even the smoothest spacing and the most skillful shooters.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
In this edition, the grey tone reflects the muted, misty landscape of the British coast, with subtle variations achieved through multiple layers of transparent lacquer.—
Matthew Catellier,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
Edwards clearly is a devoted Spielberg fan, embedding subtle homages throughout, notably in the open water sequences that recall Jaws.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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If tokenized equity direct listings are allowed, this wouldn’t be the first time the SEC helped an innovative new product get off the ground.—
Christopher Perkins,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Excellent cuisine, including innovative bites at the pop-up Morimoto by Sea, a venue operated in partnership with chef Masaharu Morimoto.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Travel + Leisure,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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The production will be directed by The Old Vic’s artistic director Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day, Pride) in his final season before stopping down in September 2026.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 June 2025
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This particular weather issue did not deter Hermés' artistic director Veronique Nichanian from proposing extremely lightweight and smooth like butter leather dressing for the upcoming season, perhaps the ultimate luxury to wear lambskins, while fabrics like linen seem obvious.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Artful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artful. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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