artifice


artifice
ar·ti·fice /'är-tə-fəs/ n: a clever strategy usu. intended to deceive or defraud

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

artifice
I noun artful contrivance, artfulness, artificiality, beguilement, charlatanry, cheating, chicanery, circumvention, cleverness, concealment, connivance, contrivance, cover, cozenage, craftiness, crafty device, cunning, cunningness, deceit, deception, delusion, design, device, disguise, distortion, dodgery, duplicity, espieglerie, evasion, expediency, fabrication, false claim, false pretensions, falsification, feint, finesse, forgery, fraudulence, guile, hoax, illusion, impersonation, imposture, ingenuity, insidiousness, insubstantiality, intrigue, jobbery, knavery, Machiavellianism, machination, maneuvering, mendacity, misrepresentation, perfidy, pettifoggery, ploy, pretense, pretension, pretext, rascality, ruse, scheme, sham, sharp practice, slyness, snare, stratagem, subterfuge, tactics, trap, trick, trickery, wile, wiliness, wrinkle II index bad faith, contrivance, deception, device (contrivance), disguise, duplicity, evasion, expedient, false pretense, fraud, hoax, knavery, machination, maneuver (trick), pettifoggery, ploy, ruse, stratagem, strategy, subterfuge, trap

Burton's Legal Thesaurus. . 2006


artifice
n.
A clever or cunning device, often used to commit fraud or some trickery.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.

Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • artifice — [ artifis ] n. m. • artefice 1256; lat. artificium « art, métier », par l it. 1 ♦ (1505) Vx Art consommé, habileté. ⇒ art. ♢ Mod. Moyen habile, ingénieux. Résoudre un problème de mathématiques par un artifice de calcul. 2 ♦ (XVIIe) Cour. Moyen… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • artifice — ARTIFICE. s. m. Art, industrie. Cette horloge, cette machine est faite avec un artifice merveilleux. L artifice d un ouvrage. On le dit Des ouvrages d esprit, du style. L artifice de son style séduit. f♛/b] On dit qu Un homme ne vit que par… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • artifice — Artifice. s. m. Art, industrie. Cette horloge, cette machine est faite avec un artifice merveilleux. Artifice, Se prend plus ordinairement pour Ruse, deguisement, fraude. Meschant, detestable artifice. artifice grossier. user d artifice. qui se… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • artifice — Artifice, Artificium. User d artifice, Artem adhibere. Par grand artifice, Affabre. Sans artifice, Inartificialiter …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • artifice — [n1] hoax; clever act con, contrivance, device, dodge, expedient, gambit, gimmick*, machination, maneuver, play, ploy, racket*, ruse, savvy, scam*, stratagem, subterfuge, tactic, wile; concept 59 Ant. candor, frankness, honesty, honor,… …   New thesaurus

  • artífice — sustantivo masculino 1. Persona que con esfuerzo e ingenio consigue alguna cosa: Pablo ha sido el artífice de la victoria. Aquí tienes a Pepita, la artífice del proyecto. Sinónimo: creador, autor. 2. Uso/registro: restringido. Artesano que… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • artifice — (n.) 1530s, workmanship, the making of anything by craft or skill, from M.Fr. artifice skill, cunning (14c.), from L. artificium a profession, trade, employment, craft; making by art, from artifex (gen. artificis) craftsman, artist, from ars art… …   Etymology dictionary

  • artífice — s. 2 g. 1. Pessoa que manufatura um objeto. = ARTESÃO 2.  [Figurado] Pessoa que cria ou inventa. = AUTOR, CRIADOR, INVENTOR, OBREIRO 3. Oficial mecânico. = OBREIRO • adj. 2 g. 4. Artificial …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • artifice — 1 *art, cunning, craft, skill Analogous words: ingeniousness or ingenuity, cleverness, adroitness (see corresponding adjectives at CLEVER): adeptness, proficiency, expertness (see corresponding adjectives at PROFICIENT) 2 *trick, ruse, wile,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms