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artifice

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
ar·ti·fice  (ärt-fs)
n.
1. An artful or crafty expedient; a stratagem. See Synonyms at wile.
2. Subtle but base deception; trickery.
3. Cleverness or skill; ingenuity.

[French, from Old French, craftsmanship, from Latin artificium, from artifex, artific-, craftsman : ars, art-, art; see art1 + -fex, maker; see dh- in Indo-European roots.]

artifice [ˈɑːtɪfɪs]
n
1. a clever expedient; ingenious stratagem
2. crafty or subtle deception
3. skill; cleverness
4. a skilfully contrived device
5. Obsolete craftsmanship
[from Old French, from Latin artificium skill, from artifex one possessed of a specific skill, from ars skill + -fex, from facere to make]

artifice
1. skill, ingenuity, or craftiness.
2. Obsolete, the command of a learned trade or skill.
See also: Skill and Craft
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.artifice - a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture)
tactical maneuver, tactical manoeuvre, maneuver, manoeuvre - a move made to gain a tactical end

artifice
noun
2. cleverness, skill, facility, invention, ingenuity, finesse, inventiveness, deftness, adroitness a combination of theatrical artifice and dazzling cinematic movement
Translations
artifice [ˈɑːtɪfɪs] N
1. (= cunning) → habilidad f, ingenio m
2. (= trick) → artificio m, ardid m; (= strategem) → estratagema f
artifice [ˈɑːrtɪfɪs] nruse f
artifice
n
(= guile)List f no pl
(= stratagem)(Kriegs)list f
artifice [ˈɑːtɪfɪs] n (frm) (cunning) → abilità, destrezza; (trick) → artificio


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Thus, to take a long and circuitous route, after enticing the enemy out of the way, and though starting after him, to contrive to reach the goal before him, shows knowledge of the artifice of DEVIATION.
Perhaps this was because I had reached the point through my acquaintance with Tolstoy where I was impatient even of the artifice that hid itself.
Yet his style, for the most part devoid alike of artifice and art, almost baldly simple and direct, seems hardly compatible with the disingenuousness of a merely literary intention; one would call it the manner of one more concerned for the fruits of research than for the flowers of expression.
 
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