| 释义 |
artful, a.|ˈɑːtfʊl|
[f. art n. + -ful.]
I. Of persons or agents.
†1. Versed in the (liberal) arts; learned, wise.
1613Heywood Braz. Age ii. ii. Wks. III. 213 A beauteous Lady, art-full wise. 1681Jordan Lond. Joy in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 544 A piece worthy of an artful man's Examination.
2. Having practical, operative, or constructive skill; dexterous, clever. arch.
1697Dryden Life Virgil (R.) Too artful a writer to set down events in exact historical order. 1710Shaftesbury Charac. iii. i. (1737) II. 385 Subtile Threds spun from their artful Mouths! 1718Pope Iliad xiv. 204 Her artful hands the radiant tresses tied.
3. Skilful in adapting means to ends, so as to secure the accomplishment of a purpose, adroit; passing gradually into: Skilful in taking an unfair advantage; using stratagem, wily; cunning, crafty, deceitful.
1739T. Sheridan Persius i. 23 Horace was more artful, and in a merry Way touched upon his Friends' Faults without putting them out of Humour. 1760Mitchell in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 480 IV. 419 Make use of the artful pen of Voltaire to draw secrets from the King of Prussia. 1797T. Bewick Brit. Birds I. 73 Made use of by artful and designing men. 1857Bohn Handbk. Prov. 67 An artful fellow is the devil in a doublet.
II. Of things, actions, etc.
4. Displaying or characterized by technical skill; performed or executed in accordance with the rules of art; artistic. arch.
1615Latham's Falconry Pref. Verses, To..force her to your voice and luring fall, Is strangely artfull. 1637Milton Comus 494 Thyrsis! whose artful strains have oft delayed The huddling brook. 1718J. Chamberlayne Relig. Philos. I. vi. §8 So artful a Machine as every Man is. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 41 It would not be deemed an artful performance to fire one cartouch after another.
5. Produced by art, as opposed to what is natural; artificial, imitative, unreal.
1706Addison Rosamond ii. i, In yon cool grotto's artful night. 1779J. Moore View Soc. Fr. viii. (1789) I. 55 The artful distresses of a romance. 1857Emerson Poems 114 Smite the chords..That they may render back Artful thunder.
6. Skilfully adapted for the accomplishment of a purpose; ingenious, clever; passing gradually into: Cunning, crafty, deceitful.
1705Stanhope Paraphr. I. 217 Artful Reasonings, and most moving Eloquence. 1712Steele Spect. No. 400 ⁋2 Artful Conformity to the Modesty of a Woman's Manners. 1843Mill Logic ii. iv. §4 The marks, by an artful combination of which men have been able to discover and prove all that is proved in geometry. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. xv, This is a very artful dodge. |