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artless

adjective
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art·​less | \ ˈärt-ləs How to pronounce artless (audio) \

Definition of artless

1 : lacking art, knowledge, or skill : uncultured an artless brute
2a : made without skill : crude an artless attempt to win votes
b : free from artificiality : natural artless grace
3 : free from guile or craft : sincerely simple an artless young woman
Other Words from artless Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about artless

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Other Words from artless

artlessly adverb
artlessness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for artless

natural, ingenuous, naive, unsophisticated, artless mean free from pretension or calculation. natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world. her unaffected, natural manner ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions. the ingenuous enthusiasm of children naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence. politically naive unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness. unsophisticated adolescents artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others. artless charm

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 This legal argument is a house of marked cards, and an artless one at that, but that doesn’t matter to Trump and company. — Jonathan Stevenson, The New York Review of Books, "With Flynn, Barr Burns Justice to Feed Trump’s ‘Obamagate’ Fantasy," 15 May 2020 On Tuesday, the small-screen vista was limited to artless shots of House impeachment managers and Mr. Trump’s lawyers at their lecterns, with an occasional overhead glimpse of the chamber thrown in. — New York Times, "Trump Trial Day 1: Roped-Off Reporters and TV Cameras Run by the Senate," 21 Jan. 2020 At 90 minutes or less, this movie’s flat acting, choppy conversations, artless cinematography and sub-David Lynch surrealism would be easy to dismiss. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: Four very different horror films arrive in time for Halloween," 10 Oct. 2019 These artless snapshots annoy Noah, the grandson of a famous photographer. — BostonGlobe.com, "In “Akin,” the Dublin-born author once again pairs a child and a caregiver in uncomfortable proximity. Only this time, that closeness comes during a trip to Nice, France, and the awkwardness arises from the two being strangers, although they are, as the title suggests, related.," 26 Sep. 2019 Polpette were artless spheres of cooked ground beef without enough salt or spice to give them life. — Bill Addison, latimes.com, "The pizzeria in ‘Eat Pray Love’ has a new Hollywood knockoff. It’s a flop.," 11 July 2019 Brittany Murphy plays an artless, dorky pageant contestant named Lisa, and Amy Adams is Leslie, a contestant who occupies the obligatory role of slutty cheerleader. — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, "“Drop Dead Gorgeous,” Which Is Finally Streaming, Is Possibly My Favorite Movie of All Time," 5 July 2019 The lyrics are as unadorned as her pole-work is impressive, a juxtaposition of plain, artless language and strenuous performance. — Billboard Staff, Billboard, "The 20 Best Music Videos of 2019 (So Far): Staff Picks," 20 June 2019 The diction is simple, the writing artless; the world of the novel, told in a basic third-person voice, claustrophobic. — E. Tammy Kim, The New York Review of Books, "#KoreaToo," 7 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'artless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of artless

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for artless

art entry 1 + -less

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Time Traveler for artless

Time Traveler

The first known use of artless was in 1586

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Cite this Entry

“Artless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artless. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for artless

artless

adjective
How to pronounce artless (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of artless

: not false or artificial

See the full definition for artless in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on artless

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for artless

Nglish: Translation of artless for Spanish Speakers

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