artful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɑrtfəl/ UK /ˈɑːtfʊl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
clever or skillful, often in a cunning or deceptive way

With an artful turn of phrase he sidestepped the awkward question entirely.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · clever or skillful, often... cunning crafty wily sly clever shrewd ingenious deceitful

Opposites

artless guileless ingenuous naive candid

Word family

Forms artfully

Derived forms artfullyartfulness

Related forms art artless artifice

Etymology

From art (from Old French art, from Latin ars, artem 'skill, craft') plus the native suffix -ful.

ars Latin *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# artful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɑrtfəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɑːtfʊl/

## Meanings
1. clever or skillful, often in a cunning or deceptive way

## Examples
- With an artful turn of phrase he sidestepped the awkward question entirely.

## Synonyms
- cunning
- crafty
- wily
- sly
- clever
- shrewd
- ingenious
- deceitful

## Antonyms
- artless
- guileless
- ingenuous
- naive
- candid

## Derived Forms
- artfully
- artfulness

## Related Forms
- art
- artless
- artifice

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ars
- Root: *h₂er-

## Etymology
From art (from Old French art, from Latin ars, artem 'skill, craft') plus the native suffix -ful.

## AI Etymology
Artful is an adjective meaning "clever or skillful, often in a cunning or deceptive way". Historically, it is from art (from Old French art, from Latin ars, artem 'skill, craft') plus the native suffix -ful. The visible construction is part of the etymology: artful is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The modern meaning, "clever or skillful, often in a cunning or deceptive way", follows the base word through the added English ending. The historical chain links Latin ars with Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-. Close English family members include artfully, artfulness, art, artless, and artifice.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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