Link Centre Dictionary

artful

art·ful

US/ˈɑːtf(ʊ)l/ rare obsolete

adjective

1.

not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness

  • “an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time” David Cannadine
  • “a disingenuous excuse”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Similar
2.

marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft

  • “the artful dodger”
  • “an artful choice of metaphors”
Antonyms
Similar

Origin

From art (“skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun).

Phrases

  • artful dodger
  • artful pleading

Related words

Word family

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.