artifice (ˈɑːtɪfɪs
)
Definitions
noun
- a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem
- crafty or subtle deception
- skill; cleverness
- a skilfully contrived device
- obsolete craftsmanship
Word Origin
C16: from Old French, from Latin artificium skill, from artifex one possessed of a specific skill, from ars skill + -fex, from facere to makeSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
cunning,
scheming,
trick,
device,
craft,
tactic,
manoeuvre,
deception,
hoax,
expedient,
ruse,
guile,
trickery,
duplicity,
subterfuge,
stratagem,
contrivance,
chicanery,
wile,
craftiness,
artfulness,
slyness,
machination,
dodge,
Usage examples
By such linguistic artifice , he tried to distract himself from that ignoble sense of relief at Blanche's departure.
, Somewhere East of Life (1994)And a shameful mockery of popular government and the artifice of democracy acted out in the Lok Sabha.
India Today (1997)Moving as it was, there was a lingering fear the man's moving story was an artifice.
The Australian (2004)Like all celebrities, Rivers is a victim of her own creation, but the creation is an exaggerated artifice.
Glasgow Herald (2001)The problem with spices was their cost and artifice ; the real deal needed no embroidering.
, SPICE: The History of a Temptation (2004)