artful
/'ɑ:tful/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Skilled at achieving goals through cunning or cleverness: Describes someone who is cleverly deceitful or crafty in their methods to get what they want.
- Not honest or straightforward; deceptive: Describes behavior or speech that is insincere, intended to mislead or create a false impression.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The artful negotiator managed to secure the deal on very favorable terms. (Here, "artful" implies clever, strategic skill, possibly with an element of cunning.)
- Her artful excuse convinced the teacher she was ill. (In this context, "artful" suggests a cleverly constructed but deceptive reason.)
- He gave an artful smile, hiding his true intentions. (This use describes a deceptive, calculated expression.)
Advanced Usage
- "The artful dodger": A classic literary reference (from Charles Dickens's ) to a character who is a clever and skillful pickpocket. This phrase is often used to describe someone who is adept at avoiding capture or responsibility through cunning.
- He was an artful dodger when it came to paying his share of the bill.
Variants and Related Words
- Artfully (adverb): In a cleverly skillful or cunning manner.
- She artfully avoided answering the direct question.
- Artfulness (noun): The quality of being artful; cleverness or cunning.
- The artfulness of his scheme was both impressive and alarming.
Synonyms
- Cunning: Having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion.
- Crafty: Clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods.
- Disingenuous: Not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
- Sly: Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.
- Guileful: Crafty; cunning; using or characterized by clever, indirect, or deceptive methods.
Antonyms
- Artless: Without guile or deception; natural and simple.
- Ingenuous: (Of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting; showing childlike simplicity and candidness.
- Straightforward: Uncomplicated and easy to understand; honest and frank.
- Genuine: Truly what something is said to be; authentic; sincere.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- An artful dodge: A clever maneuver to avoid something.
- Pleading a prior engagement was just an artful dodge to get out of the meeting.
- With artful simplicity: Describing something that appears simple but is actually very cleverly or skillfully done.
- The poem conveys deep emotions with artful simplicity.
Adjective
-
marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft
-
the artful dodger
-
an artful choice of metaphors
-
-
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
-
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ tương tự
Từ gần giống
Từ chứa "artful"
