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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).
Examples of artifice in a Sentence
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
Nurturing Diversity On Boards Beyond Gender Women leaders who understand and embrace diversity on boards from a broader perspective position their board presence beyond a gender-balance artifice.
—Albana Vrioni, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
Given politicians often embed their outfits with powerful or meaningful choices—see Dr. Jill Biden’s patriotic wardrobe in shades of red, white, and blue—Trump’s wardrobe appears to be built on artifice and aesthetics instead.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 21 Jan. 2025
At that point, Goncalves would hope for a similar action — likely with a bit more legal artifice.
—Dan Primack, Axios, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for artifice
Cite this Entry
“Artifice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artifice. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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artifice
noun
Legal Definition
artifice
noun
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