Question

artifice By his cunning and artifice, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful. ˈɑrtəfɪs

Accepted Answer

(1) Clever skill. (2) A clever trick. Artifice can be a tricky word to use. It combines the same roots as artifact, so it's sometimes seen in descriptions of craftsmanship (“The artifice that went into this jewelry can still astound us,” “The chef had used all his artifice to disguise the nature of the meat”). But it can also be used for many situations that don't involve physical materials (“They had gotten around the rules by a clever artifice,” “The artifice of the plot is ingenious”). Like its adjective, artificial, artifice isn't necessarily either positive nor negative. But both words can make us slightly uncomfortable if we like to think of simplicity and naturalness as important values.

word	artifice
definition	(1) Clever skill. (2) A clever trick.
eg_sentence	By his cunning and artifice, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful.
explanation	Artifice can be a tricky word to use. It combines the same roots as artifact, so it's sometimes seen in descriptions of craftsmanship (“The artifice that went into this jewelry can still astound us,” “The chef had used all his artifice to disguise the nature of the meat”). But it can also be used for many situations that don't involve physical materials (“They had gotten around the rules by a clever artifice,” “The artifice of the plot is ingenious”). Like its adjective, artificial, artifice isn't necessarily either positive nor negative. But both words can make us slightly uncomfortable if we like to think of simplicity and naturalness as important values.
IPA	ˈɑrtəfɪs

Artifice Clever Skill Trick Cunning Iago Convinces Othello