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Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (2)

1. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness;
- Example: "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"- David Cannadine
- Example: "a disingenuous excuse"
[syn: disingenuous, artful]

2. marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft;
- Example: "the artful dodger"
- Example: "an artful choice of metaphors"


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Artful \Art"ful\, a. [From Art.] 1. Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [Archaic] "Artful strains." "Artful terms." --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Artificial; imitative. --Addison. [1913 Webster] 3. Using or exhibiting much art, skill, or contrivance; dexterous; skillful. [1913 Webster] He [was] too artful a writer to set down events in exact historical order. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 4. Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing; crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.] [1913 Webster] Artful in speech, in action, and in mind. --Pope. [1913 Webster] The artful revenge of various animals. --Darwin. [1913 Webster] Syn: Cunning; skillful; adroit; dexterous; crafty; tricky; deceitful; designing. See Cunning. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

artful adj 1: not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness; "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"- David Cannadine; "a disingenuous excuse" [syn: disingenuous, artful] [ant: artless, ingenuous] 2: marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft; "the artful dodger"; "an artful choice of metaphors" [ant: artless]