ARTFUL


Meaning of ARTFUL in English

ˈärtfəl, ˈȧt- adjective

Etymology: art (II) + -ful

1.

a. : performed with, characterized by, or exhibiting art or skill

so artful is the choice of detail that the reader is given the illusion of having lived through every painful minute of the lengthy trial — Howard Haycraft

b. : produced by art : artificial

the wording a shade too clever, the vowel-patterns too artful — Times Literary Supplement

c.

(1) : ingeniously designed

artful vases and pitchers — N.Y.Times

(2) : craftily deceptive

she hit upon an artful conjecture — George Meredith

2.

a. : using art or skill : dexterous , skillful

something more than the mere artful prose stylist he is so often considered — David Daiches

b. : adroit in taking advantage usually unfairly : crafty , deceitful

many an artful shipmaster who thought the barristers were fools … has seen his nautical evidence torn to shreds by a lawyer who had never been to sea — N.Y.Herald Tribune

Synonyms: see sly

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.