Definition of artifice
b
: an ingenious device or expedient
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artifice was our Word of the Day on 05/02/2010. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of artifice in a Sentence
He spoke without artifice or pretense.
The whole story was just an artifice to win our sympathy.
Recent Examples of artifice from the Web
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In playing with both convention and context in this way, Simpson draws attention to the artifice around her, and occasionally within her own work.
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After Gattaca and The Truman Show, Niccol continued to make movies that explored the intersections of technology and humanity, reality and artifice.
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In the end, though, marveling at the construction of Detroit’s branching pathways only highlights the artifice of it all.
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In the show’s park setting, the hosts’ (or robots’) artifice is reflected in perfect doll-like makeup, as worn by Evan Rachel Wood’s character Dolores.
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Set: Brandon Kirkham’s functional, multilevel set is almost comically two-dimensional, highlighting the artifice in a piece that’s avowedly theatrical.
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Going back, to the delicious artifice of niches and compact, busy rooms, ceremoniously presented in Renaissance perspective.
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Before long the artifice becomes offputting, and the comparisons between the two clerics come to seem terribly belabored.
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That artifice eventually gave way to a new transparency, even if that became its own sort of performance.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'artifice.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The difference between art and artifice
Do great actors display artifice or art? Sometimes a bit of both. Artifice stresses creative skill or intelligence, but also implies a sense of falseness and trickery. Art generally rises above such falseness, suggesting instead an unanalyzable creative force. Actors may rely on some of each, but the personae they display in their roles are usually artificial creations. Therein lies a lexical connection between art and artifice. Artifice derives from artificium, Latin for artifice (that root also gave English artificial). Artificium in turn developed from ars, the Latin root underlying the word art (and related terms such as artist and artisan).
Origin and Etymology of artifice
Middle French, from Latin artificium, from artific-, artifex artificer, from Latin art-, ars + facere — see artifact
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1540
in the meaning defined at sense 1a
See Words from the same yearartifice Synonyms
Synonyms
cheating, cozenage, craft, craftiness, crookedness, crookery, cunning, cunningness, deceit, deceitfulness, deception, deceptiveness, dishonesty, dissembling, dissimulation, double-dealing, dupery, duplicity, fakery, foxiness, fraud, guile, guilefulness, wiliness;
Antonyms
artlessness, forthrightness, good faith, guilelessness, ingenuousness, sincerity;
Near Antonyms
candidness, candor, directness, frankness, openness, plainness, plainspokenness;
dependability, reliability, reliableness, solidity, trustability, trustiness, trustworthiness;
decency, goodness, incorruptibility, integrity, righteousness, truthfulness, uprightness, virtuousness;
Related Words
equivocation, lying, mendacity, prevarication;
chicane, chicanery, fraudulence, hanky-panky, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery, wile;
falsehood, falsity, fib, untruth;
hypocrisy, insincerity, sanctimoniousness, two-facedness;
artfulness, caginess (also cageyness), deviousness, shrewdness;
treacherousness, underhandedness, unscrupulousness;
covertness, furtiveness, secrecy, shadiness, sneakiness, stealthiness;
oiliness, shiftiness, slickness, slipperiness, slyness, smoothness;
Synonym Discussion of artifice
trick, ruse, stratagem, maneuver, artifice, wile, feint mean an indirect means to gain an end. trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end.
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- the tricks of the trade
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- the ruses of smugglers
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- the stratagem-filled game
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- last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy
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- the clever artifices of the stage
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- used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself
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- a feint toward the enemy's left flank
art, skill, cunning, artifice, craft mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power.
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- the art of choosing the right word
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- the skill of a glassblower
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- a mystery plotted with great cunning
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- believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice
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- the craft of a master goldsmith
ARTIFICE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of artifice for English Language Learners
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: dishonest or insincere behavior or speech that is meant to deceive someone
ARTIFICE Defined for Kids
Definition of artifice for Students
: a clever trick or device
- She used every artifice to avoid work.
Law Dictionary
legal Definition of artifice
: a clever strategy usually intended to deceive or defraud
Learn More about artifice
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for artifice Spanish Central: Translation of artifice Nglish: Translation of artifice for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of artifice for Arabic speakers
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