ARTFUL Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'artful' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of artful are crafty , cunning , foxy , slick , sly , tricky , and wily . While all these words mean "attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means," artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness. // elicited the information by artful questioning

Q: When might 'crafty' be a better fit than 'artful'?

The meanings of crafty and artful largely overlap; however, crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method. // a crafty lefthander

Q: When could 'cunning' be used to replace 'artful'?

Although the words cunning and artful have much in common, cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing. // the cunning fox avoided the trap

Q: Where would 'foxy' be a reasonable alternative to 'artful'?

The words foxy and artful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing. // a foxy publicity man planting stories

Q: In what contexts can 'slick' take the place of 'artful'?

The words slick and artful can be used in similar contexts, but slick emphasizes smoothness and guile. // slick operators selling time-sharing

Q: When would 'sly' be a good substitute for 'artful'?

In some situations, the words sly and artful are roughly equivalent. However, sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods. // a sly corporate raider

Q: When is it sensible to use 'tricky' instead of 'artful'?

While in some cases nearly identical to artful , tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering. // a tricky political operative

Q: When can 'wily' be used instead of 'artful'?

While the synonyms wily and artful are close in meaning, wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering. // the wily fugitive escaped the posse

artful

adjective

ˈärt-fəl

Definition of artful

as in cunning

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means the artful lawyer got the witness to admit he had been lying

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in inventive

showing a noteworthy use of the imagination and creativity especially in inventing that kitchen gadget is an artful tool for extracting cherry pits

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in virtuoso

accomplished with trained ability that was an artful way to handle a very delicate situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word artful distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of artful are crafty, cunning, foxy, slick, sly, tricky, and wily. While all these words mean "attaining or seeking to attain one's ends by guileful or devious means," artful implies indirectness in dealing and often connotes sophistication or cleverness.

elicited the information by artful questioning

When might crafty be a better fit than artful?

The meanings of crafty and artful largely overlap; however, crafty implies cleverness and subtlety of method.

a crafty lefthander

When could cunning be used to replace artful?

Although the words cunning and artful have much in common, cunning suggests the inventive use of sometimes limited intelligence in overreaching or circumventing.

the cunning fox avoided the trap

Where would foxy be a reasonable alternative to artful?

The words foxy and artful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, foxy implies a shrewd and wary craftiness usually involving devious dealing.

a foxy publicity man planting stories

In what contexts can slick take the place of artful?

The words slick and artful can be used in similar contexts, but slick emphasizes smoothness and guile.

slick operators selling time-sharing

When would sly be a good substitute for artful?

In some situations, the words sly and artful are roughly equivalent. However, sly implies furtiveness, lack of candor, and skill in concealing one's aims and methods.

a sly corporate raider

When is it sensible to use tricky instead of artful?

While in some cases nearly identical to artful, tricky is more likely to suggest shiftiness and unreliability than skill in deception and maneuvering.

a tricky political operative

When can wily be used instead of artful?

While the synonyms wily and artful are close in meaning, wily implies skill and deception in maneuvering.

the wily fugitive escaped the posse

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of artful Both Farrelly and Antoine Fuqua, the director of the latter film, are making something more broad than artful. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026 The dining room and bar, while filled with personal artful touches, could use a refresh by a professional designer, just as the menu benefited from a consulting chef. — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026 The spare, focused style of Naza has a grim, artful beauty, all in service of the subject matter. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026 Greenery becomes an artful layer, softening the building and giving it a sense of (literal) grounding that tech-adulating blobitecture often lacks. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for artful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for artful

Adjective

Magpies are opportunistic scavengers, incredibly cunning and deceitful and capable of calculated deception.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Last week, Alan Cumming’s cunning competition empire The Traitors unsheathed its most diabolical twist yet.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of cunning

Adjective

Last year, there weren’t as many, but for us, animation is such an inventive form.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
In 2011, Joe Kay debuted Soulection as a college radio show at Cal State Long Beach, spinning rare B-sides, progressive beats, inventive flips of classic records and soulful underground tracks.

— Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of inventive

Adjective

Every day, the virtuoso violinist plays for an audience of travelers, with his stage in the pedestrian tunnel that links the CTA and parking garages to the terminals.

— Noel Brennan, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Through 107 career games, Minten’s profile has leaned more toward dependable cello player than virtuoso first violinist.

— Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of virtuoso

Adjective

By upgrading synthetic skin from a passive sensor into an energy harvester, the Fudan team offers a clever alternative to deadweight batteries.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
Halloween is sneaking up frighteningly fast, which means the window for coming up with a genuinely clever costume is closing at an alarming rate.

— Marci Robin, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of clever

Adjective

But be that guy that can be skillful, a bruiser, fast and tough.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2026
As Musashi scrambles through a school of Samurai, the game seamlessly bounces between skillful swordplay, rowdy improvisation, and Looney Tunes-style levity.

— Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of skillful

Adjective

Poindexter featured his three daughters in his first campaign advertisement for the general election, taking a subtle dig at Miller.

— Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2026
Later still, we are introduced to Satoko Iijima (Ishida), who again shares many defining features with her two namesakes, albeit with just enough subtle differences to keep the audience on the back foot.

— James Marsh, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of subtle

Adjective

To help smaller, innovative brands get past minimum order quantity barriers, Hyosung combines demand from several partners.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Microsoft makes a big investment, and when the company’s innovative earth-shaking ChatGPT becomes a sensation Altman changes to goals and goes for profit.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of innovative

Browse Nearby Words

artery

artful

artfully

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Artful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artful. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of artful

adjective

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Luddite

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes