1
as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
with well-practiced artfulness, he convinced his mother he was sick enough to stay home from school but not sick enough for a visit to the doctor's office
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in skill
subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something
building a ship model requires a painstaking artfulness I don't have
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of artfulness
There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.
—
Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Tim Greiving, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artfulness
Noun
-
Federico Marchetti, the Italian fashion entrepreneur, is a master of sprezzatura—the courtier’s art of cloaking ambition and cunning in an air of guileless nonchalance.—
John Seabrook,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Dayforce will today release its annual pulse survey of roughly 7,000 workers in six countries, showing that 71% of workers have not received AI training in the past year—even though 63% of workers say developing such skills is important.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
6 Oct. 2025
-
To be funny while playing a character who’s sweet and endearing (even when calling his friends idiots) is a skill, and Bad Bunny has it.—
Rima Parikh,
Vulture,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Saudis studying abroad lose the subtleties of the language and miss out on the culture, memes, and everything else that defines this generation.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
There was little subtlety in his threats.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Ay, the superb slyness of that last response!—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Artfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artfulness. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share