artifice

[ahr-tuh-fis]

noun

1. a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile.

   Synonyms: subterfuge

2. trickery; guile; craftiness.

   Synonyms: duplicity, art, deceit, deception

3. cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness.

   a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.

4. a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

artifice

/ ˈɑːtɪfɪs /

noun

1. a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem

2. crafty or subtle deception

3. skill; cleverness

4. a skilfully contrived device

5. obsolete,  craftsmanship

Word History and Origins

Origin of artifice¹

1525–35; < Anglo-French < Latin artificium craftsmanship, art, craftiness, equivalent to arti-, combining form of ars art ¹ + -fic-, combining form of facere to do ¹, make + -ium + -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of artifice¹

C16: from Old French, from Latin artificium skill, from artifex one possessed of a specific skill, from ars skill + -fex, from facere to make

Synonym Study

See trick. See cunning.

Example Sentences

“You can walk through the building and you can see that those surfaces are not really homogeneous. The material expresses itself with no artifice, and we wanted to preserve that.”

From Los Angeles Times

Generously, one might interpret this as a Brechtian nod toward the film’s artifice as an arch and knowing remake laden with references.

From Los Angeles Times

It deconstructs the artifice of a rock show, making The 1975 seem more human - but equally, it deflates the excitement of watching a band in full flow.

From BBC

This building up and breaking down of artifice forces reflection on how we use fiction to explore and bend reality while undermining the comforts of distance.

From Los Angeles Times

"That's when it connects and when it means something. Otherwise, it's artifice."

From BBC

Related Words

• contrivance 
• gimmick