7 results for: Artifice

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ar·ti·fice

Audio Help [ahr-tuh-fis] Pronunciation Key

–noun

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

2.	trickery; guile; craftiness.

3.	cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness: a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.

4.	a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.

[Origin: 1525–35; < AF < L artificium craftsmanship, art, craftiness, equiv. to arti-, comb. form of ars art¹ + -fic-, comb. form of facere to do¹, make + -ium + -ium

]

—Synonyms 1. subterfuge. See trick. 2. deception, deceit, art, duplicity. See cunning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Artifice

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ar·ti·fice Audio Help (är'tə-fĭs) Pronunciation Key
n.

An artful or crafty expedient; a stratagem. See Synonyms at wile.
Subtle but base deception; trickery.
Cleverness or skill; ingenuity.

[French, from Old French, craftsmanship, from Latin artificium, from artifex, artific-, craftsman : ars, art-, art; see art¹ + -fex, maker; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
artifice

1534, "workmanship," from M.Fr. artifice "skill, cunning," from L. artificium "making by art, craft," from artifex (gen. artificis) "craftsman, artist," from ars "art" (see art (n.)) + facere "do" (see factitious). Meaning "device, trick" (the usual modern sense) is from 1656.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

artifice
noun
a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture) [syn: ruse]

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: ar·ti·fice
Pronunciation: 'är-t&-f&s
Function: noun
: a clever strategy usually intended to deceive or defraud

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Artifice

Ar"ti*fice\, n. [L. artificium, fr. artifex artificer; ars, artis, art + facere to make: cf. F. artifice.]

1. A handicraft; a trade; art of making. [Obs.]

2. Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work.

The material universe.. in the artifice of God, the artifice of the best Mechanist. --Cudworth.

3. Artful or skillful contrivance.

His [Congreve's] plots were constructed without much artifice. --Craik.

4. Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick.

Note: [Now the usual meaning.]

Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous artifices for the purpose of averting inquiry. --Macaulay.

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