ˈär]d.əfə̇s, ˈȧ], ]tə-\ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin artificium, from artific-, artifex artificer, from arti- (from art-, ars skill) + -fic-, -fex (from facere to do, make)
1.
a. obsolete : production or making of something especially in arts or crafts
b. archaic : artistic skill or style
2.
a. : a wily or artful stratagem : trick , trickery
b. : guile , insincerity
a master of artifice
3. : an ingenious or skillful device or expedient : clever skill : ingenuity , inventiveness
the sum total of all this artifice , melodrama, and incredible behavior is a warm, witty, profoundly tragic portrait — Time
Synonyms: see art , trick