artifice
noun/ˈɑːtɪfɪs/
/ˈɑːrtɪfɪs/
[uncountable, countable] (formal)- the clever use of tricks to cheat somebody synonym cunning
- Pretending to faint was merely (an) artifice.
- the artifices of the theatre
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘workmanship’): from Old French, from Latin artificium, based on ars, art- ‘art’ + facere ‘make’.
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artifice