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Webster 1913 Edition
Artifice
Ar′ti-fice
,Noun.
[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.
[Now the usual meaning.]
Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous
artifices
for the purpose of averting inquiry. Macaulay.
Webster 1828 Edition
Artifice
'ARTIFICE
,Noun.
1.
Stratagem; an artful or ingenious device, in a good or bad sense. In a bad sense, it corresponds with trick, or fraud.2.
Art; trade; skill acquired by science or practice. [Rarely used.]Definition 2024
artifice
artifice
See also: artífice
English
Noun
artifice (plural artifices)
- A crafty but underhanded deception.
- A trick played out as an ingenious, but artful, ruse.
- A strategic maneuver that uses some clever means to avoid detection or capture.
- A tactical move to gain advantage.
Translations
crafty but underhanded deception
Related terms
French
Etymology
Borrowing from Latin artificium.
Pronunciation
Noun
artifice m (plural artifices)