1
: lacking art, knowledge, or skill : uncultured
an artless brute
2
3
: free from guile or craft : sincerely simple
an artless young woman
artlessly
adverb
artlessness
noun
Did you know?
Artless, ingenuous, and naive all refer to freedom from pretension or calculation, but there are subtle differences in their uses. Ingenuous implies an inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings, while naive suggests a credulous lack of worldly wisdom. Artless generally indicates an appearance of utter naturalness, one in which a person is (or seems to be) innocent of the effect of his or her speech or behavior on others.
Examples of artless in a Sentence
Her simple artless charm won us over instantly.
a genuine and artless girl
Recent Examples on the Web
All that’s there is an artless effort to provoke outrage — Tony Hinchcliffe with the world’s strongest Boston accent.
—
Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
The effort of analyzing this video, a piece of artless misinformation, was beneath Abu Hamdan, who has dedicated himself to unveiling the violence of the world through the medium of sound.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
The untenable toxicity of this artless warfare has led some researchers to rethink the ancient script—and flip it: know yourself, know your enemy.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 15 July 2024
His desire to control his own story may account for why his book about his years hiding under the fatwa, 2012’s Joseph Anton: A Memoir, was so artless, a tome of grievances and gripes; that was Great Man Rushdie laying claim to his own existence as intellectual property.
—Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for artless
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Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
The effort of analyzing this video, a piece of artless misinformation, was beneath Abu Hamdan, who has dedicated himself to unveiling the violence of the world through the medium of sound.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
The untenable toxicity of this artless warfare has led some researchers to rethink the ancient script—and flip it: know yourself, know your enemy.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 15 July 2024
His desire to control his own story may account for why his book about his years hiding under the fatwa, 2012’s Joseph Anton: A Memoir, was so artless, a tome of grievances and gripes; that was Great Man Rushdie laying claim to his own existence as intellectual property.
—Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for artless
Cite this Entry
“Artless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artless. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
artless
adjective
art·less
ˈärt-ləs 
1
: lacking art, knowledge, or skill : uncultured
2
a
: made without skill
an artless attempt to win
b
: being simple and sincere : natural
artless grace
3
: not trying to deceive others
artlessly
adverb
artlessness
noun
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