artifice
NounSynonyms:
ruse
WordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture)Synonyms: ruse
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Artifice \Ar"ti*fice\, n. [L. artificium, fr. artifex artificer; ars, artis, art + facere to make: cf. F. artifice.]
1.A handicraft; a trade; art of making. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
2.Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work. [1913 Webster]
The material universe . . . in the artifice of God, the artifice of the best Mechanist.— Cudworth.[1913 Webster]
3.Artful or skillful contrivance. [1913 Webster]
His [Congreve's] plots were constructed without much artifice.— Craik.[1913 Webster]
4.Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick.
Note: [Now the usual meaning.] [1913 Webster]
Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous artifices for the purpose of averting inquiry.— Macaulay.[1913 Webster]