artful

adjective

art·​ful ˈärt-fəl 

1

: performed with or showing art or skill

an artful performance on the violin

2

a

: using or characterized by art and skill : dexterous

an artful prose stylist

b

: adroit in attaining an end usually by insinuating or indirect means : wily

an artful cross-examiner

3

: artificial

… trim walks and artful bowers …

—William Wordsworth

artfully

ˈärt-fə-lē 

adverb

artfulness noun

Did you know?

A writer may produce an artful piece of prose, one that's clearly and elegantly written. The same writer might also make an artful argument, one that cleverly leaves out certain details and plays up others so as to make a stronger case. In the first instance, the prose is well crafted; in the second, the argument might instead be called crafty. But even though both uses are correct, most of us still use artful somewhat differently from artistic.

Synonyms of artful

• cunning
• cute
• subtle
• slick
• deceptive

Choose the Right Synonym for artful

sly, cunning, crafty, wily, tricky, foxy, artful, slick mean attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means.

sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

Examples of artful in a Sentence

the artful lawyer got the witness to admit he had been lying

that kitchen gadget is an artful tool for extracting cherry pits

Recent Examples on the Web

Engineered as a low-impact tight that moves with you—not against you—a day of artful movement led by Cami Árboles would bring the new design to life. —Talia Abbas, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2026

No one did that better or with more artful affection. —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026

With such a purposefully sparse scenic design and almost nothing in the way of splashy special effects besides some artful projections and the aforementioned trap doors, the actors are everything here. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026

Her black and white line drawing of two Truffula trees from The Lorax balances playfulness with artful minimalism. —Calin Van Paris, InStyle, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

art entry 1 + -ful entry 1

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

artful

adjective

art·​ful ˈärt-fəl 

1

: done with or showing art or skill

2

: clever at taking advantage

artfully

-fə-lē 

adverb

artfulness noun