artifice

noun

ar·​ti·​fice ˈär-tə-fəs 

1

a

: clever or artful skill : ingenuity

… believing that characters had to be created from within rather than with artifice.

—Garson Kanin

b

: an ingenious device or expedient

2

a

: an artful stratagem : trick

… revising the state's constitution through a series of legal stratagems and artifices …

—W. Haywood Burns

b

: false or insincere behavior

social artifice

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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 it 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 comes from artificium, Latin for "artistry, craftmanship, craft, craftiness, and cunning." (That root also gave us the English word artificial.) Artificium, in turn, developed from ars, the Latin root underlying the word art (and related terms such as artist and artisan).

Synonyms

• device
• dodge
• fetch
• flimflam
• gambit
• gimmick
• jig
• juggle
• knack
• play
• ploy
• ruse
• scheme
• shenanigan
• sleight
• stratagem
• trick
• wile

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

the tricks of the trade

ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression.

the ruses of smugglers

stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy.

the stratagem-filled game

maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty.

last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy

artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention.

the clever artifices of the stage

wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements.

used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself

feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent.

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.

the art of choosing the right word

skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency.

the skill of a glassblower

cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing.

a mystery plotted with great cunning

artifice suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature.

believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice

craft may imply expertness in workmanship.

the craft of a master goldsmith

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 on the Web

The expansiveness of the plot’s scale turns suffocating as a result, which fatally detracts from Anderson’s singular talent for achieving truth through artifice. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 May 2025

Mayhem centers Gaga’s raucous beginnings in its sound and promotion, prodding layers of artifice and performance. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025

Her themes have remained consistent—memory and its erosion, photographic artifice, and the construction of identity by linguistic and visual codes. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 5 May 2025

Everyone here is being so damn polite, but Leach can’t stand all the artifice. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Anglo-French & Middle French, "trade, craft, craftsmanship, contrivance," borrowed from Latin artificium "artistry, craftsmanship, craft, craftiness, cunning," from artific-, artifex "practitioner of an art, specialist, craftsman, creator" (from art-, ars "acquired skill, craftsmanship" + -fic-, -fex, agentive derivative of facere "to make, bring about, do") + -ium, denominal or deverbal suffix of function or state — more at art entry 1, fact

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

artifice

noun

ar·​ti·​fice ˈärt-ə-fəs 

1

a

: a clever device : trick

b

: false or dishonest behavior

social artifice

2

: clever skill

a vase made with much artifice

Legal Definition

artifice

noun

ar·​ti·​fice ˈär-tə-fəs 

: a clever strategy usually intended to deceive or defraud