artifice

CEFRC2

/ˈɑː(ɹ)tɪfɪs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A clever trick or plan used to achieve something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A strategic maneuver that uses some clever means to avoid detection or capture.

Examples

  • The language of truth must be, with no doubt, simple and without artifice.

  • The heightened worlds of darkly comedic satire and soapy high-school romance make it easy enough to roll with unrealistic casting choices—and that goes for stage musicals, too, where some level of artifice is built into the format.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A trick played out as an ingenious, but artful, ruse.

  2. A crafty but underhanded deception.

  3. A tactical move to gain advantage.

More examples

In context

  • The notion that consequence can be as easily managed as PR is the ultimate artifice and the ultimate delusion.

  • Splints and slings, already described, are easily artificed out of small saplings or from stiff bark.

  • Some of the greatest artists of their day either furnished designs or with their own hands artificed ornaments for domestic use,

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The spy used clever blank to gain access to the secure building.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle French artifice, from Latin artificium.