artifice: Meaning and Definition of

ar•ti•fice

Pronunciation: (är'tu-fis), [key]
— n.
  1. a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile.
  2. trickery; guile; craftiness.
  3. cunning; ingenuity; inventiveness: a drawing-room comedy crafted with artifice and elegance.
  4. a skillful or artful contrivance or expedient.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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