Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of artful

21 similar words

Another word for artful is cunning. Other synonyms of artful are adroit, deceitful, underhand, astute and crafty.

Synonyms and similar words for artful

adjectiveExhibiting or using much art or skill; dexterous; skilful.

  • adroitDeft, dexterous, or skillful.

adjectiveSkilful at using dishonest or unfair means to achieve a purpose; crafty, cunning.

  • deceitful
  • underhand
  • astute
  • crafty
  • cunningSly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
  • devious
  • diabolical slang(Devilishly) cunning or devious.
  • foxlikeResembling or characteristic of a fox.
  • foxy
  • frood ScotlandShrewd; sagacious; wary; cautious.
  • guilefulFull of guile; treacherously deceptive.
  • shrewdArtful, tricky or cunning.
  • slimSly, crafty.
  • slyDone with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle.
  • tricksyInclined to trickery; sneaky, devious.
  • tricky
  • vulpine
  • wilySly, cunning, full of tricks.
  • cautelous obsolete
  • subtle archaicOf a person or animal, or of an action or words: clever or skilful in a crafty or devious way; cunning, sly, wily.

Meaning of artful

  1. adjective Characterized by, or performed with, cleverness or contrivance; clever, ingenious.
  2. adjective Not naturally produced; artificial; imitative.
  3. adjective Exhibiting or using much art or skill; dexterous; skilful.

Full definition of artful

artful in other languages

Questions about synonyms of artful

What is another word for artful?
Artful has 21 synonyms on Word.ws, such as cunning, adroit, deceitful, underhand, astute, crafty, devious and diabolical.
What does artful mean?
Artful means characterized by, or performed with, cleverness or contrivance; clever, ingenious.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: artful (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of artful.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/artful. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.