artless

adjective

art·​less ˈärt-ləs 

1

: lacking art, knowledge, or skill : uncultured

an artless brute

2

a

: 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

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.

Synonyms

• genuine
• guileless
• honest
• ingenuous
• innocent
• naive
• naïve
• natural
• real
• simple
• sincere
• true
• unaffected
• unpretending
• unpretentious

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

Examples of artless in a Sentence

Her simple artless charm won us over instantly.

a genuine and artless girl

Recent Examples on the Web

First adapted for the screen by Otto Preminger in 1958, the film starred David Niven and Jean Seberg, forever conflating the author in the public imagination with the artless allure — and iconic haircut — of Ms. Seberg. —Sadie Stein, New York Times, 14 May 2025

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

Word History

Etymology

art entry 1 + -less

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for artless

• heartless

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Kids 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