Entry Word: artifice

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end <used the artifice of saying his grandmother had died so that he could get the last seat on the plane> — see trick 1
2 skill in achieving oneʼs ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means <using their artifice, the Greeks crafted a hollow wooden horse to hide inside and thereby gained entry into the city of Troy> — see cunning 1
3 subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something <a painting that could only have been created with the artifice of a master> — see skill 1
4 the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery <a crook who is a master of artifice and manipulation> — see deceit
5 the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end <a wise counselor who can see through any knaveʼs artifice> — see trickery