SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
artful
adjective
Skillful and clever, sometimes in a deceptive or manipulative way.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Skillfully devised
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topArtful can praise skill, as with a transition or design, without implying deceit.
Cleverly deceptive
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topThis group carries a deceptive implication absent from the purely skillful sense.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See artful in use
An artful transition connected the two scenes without interrupting the story.
An artful arrangement of movable cards let the reporter show each candidate's promises beside the relevant budget choices without crowding the display.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license