artful

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adjective

Definition of ARTFUL

1

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means <the artful lawyer got the witness to admit he had been lying>

Synonyms beguiling, cagey (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy [chiefly British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily

Related Words astute, facile, glib, sharp; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous; backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced; circuitous, circular, roundabout; clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover; calculating, plotting

Near Antonyms obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed; aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished; childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly; unforced, unstudied; trustful, trusting

Antonyms artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning

2

showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing <that kitchen gadget is an artful tool for extracting cherry pits>

Synonyms artful, creative, imaginative, ingenious, innovative, inventive

Related Words adventurous, fresh, groundbreaking, novel, original, visionary; cleverish, gadgety, gimmicky; convenient, handy, neat, nifty, practical, useful; complex, sophisticated; adroit, deft, dexterous (also dextrous), expert, handsome, tricky; brainy, intelligent, sharp, smart

Near Antonyms dull, pedantic, pedestrian, stodgy; assembly-line, canned, cookie-cutter, derivative, hackneyed, unoriginal; impractical, useless

Antonyms uncreative, unimaginative

3

accomplished with trained ability <that was an artful way to handle a very delicate situation>

Synonyms adroit, artful, bravura, deft, delicate, dexterous (also dextrous), expert, masterful, masterly, practiced (also practised), virtuoso, workmanlike

Related Words facile, smooth; artistic, creative, fancy, ingenious, neat; adept, clever, cunning; able, adequate, capable, competent

Near Antonyms awkward, clumsy, crude, klutzy; ineffective, ineffectual; incompetent, inept

Antonyms amateur, amateurish, artless, rude, unprofessional, unskillful