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The Difference Between Art and Artifice
Do great actors display artifice or art? Sometimes a bit of both. Artifice stresses creative skill or intelligence, but it also implies a sense of falseness and trickery. Art generally rises above such falseness, suggesting instead an unanalyzable creative force. Actors may rely on some of each, but the personae they display in their roles are usually artificial creations. Therein lies a lexical connection between art and artifice. Artifice comes from artificium, Latin for "artistry, craftmanship, craft, craftiness, and cunning." (That root also gave us the English word artificial.) Artificium, in turn, developed from ars, the Latin root underlying the word art (and related terms such as artist and artisan).
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Examples of artifice in a Sentence
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Stripping away all artifice, RuPaul recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 17 June 2024
There’s affection and genius in this, similar to a palpably good tune and unlike the polarizing artifice of last year’s Barbie.
—Armond White, National Review, 11 Oct. 2024
Hooper's original is often imitated but never replicated, one of the few horror movies that leaps from the screen without an ounce of artifice attached and embeds itself in your subconscious.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Artifice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artifice. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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