Artifice
['ɑːtɪfɪs] or ['ɑrtɪfɪs]
Definition
(n.) A handicraft; a trade; art of making.
(n.) Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work.
(n.) Artful or skillful contrivance.
(n.) Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick. [Now the usual meaning.]
Checked by Brady
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Cunning, deceit, trickery, duplicity, guile, subtlety, finesse, stratagem, trick, subterfuge, wile, ruse, chance, dodge, doubling, Machiavelism, machination, deception, cheat, shuffle, fraud, imposture, imposition, double-dealing, COLLUSION, hocus-pocus, crafty device, artful contrivance.
Typed by Enid
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:manoeuvre, cheat, wile, contrivance, craft, trick, fraud, machination, punning,imposture, stratagem
ANT:Fairness, candor, simplicity, openness
Checked by Clive
Definition
n. artificer's work: a contrivance: a trick or fraud.—n. Artif′icer a workman: an inventor.—adj. Artificial (é‹œt-i-fish′yal) made by art: not natural: cultivated: not indigenous: feigned: not natural in manners affected.—v.t. and v.i. Artific′ialise to render artificial.—ns. Artificial′ity Artific′ialness.—adv. Artific′ially.
Inputed by Lennon
Examples
- Falsehood and artifice are in themselves so hateful, that, though I still thought I did right, a feeling of shame and guilt came painfully upon me. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- This little artifice did not bring him. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The same artifice gives rise to both. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Nothing is farther from my thoughts than to attribute any degree of artifice to Mr. Jorkins. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- But to destroy this artifice, we need but reflect on that principle so oft insisted on, that all our ideas are copyed from our impressions. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- But I disdained the artifice; or rather in my wretchedness it was my only consolation to pour out my heart to you, my brother, my only friend. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Emma saw its artifice, and returned to her first surmises. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Here are the steps: the artifice of the instrument depends either on one glass or on several. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Who contrived this artifice? Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- It has accordingly been the effect of violence and artifice. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Why could one never do a natural thing without having to screen it behind a structure of artifice? Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The case fully stated, Mr. Bagnet resorts to his standard artifice for the maintenance of discipline. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Public interest, education, and the artifices of politicians, have the same effect in both cases. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Who has not admired the artifices and delicate approaches with which women prepare their friends for bad news? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- It must not be imagined that Mr. Pitt Crawley's artifices escaped the attention of his dear relations at the Rectory at Queen's Crawley. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Gentlemen, is the happiness of a sensitive and confiding female to be trifled away, by such shallow artifices as these? Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- These are not its only artifices. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Do you forget his artifices, his cruelty, and fraud? Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Checker: Steve