artless
artless Lexical Profile
artless Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Without guile, deception, or pretension; natural, sincere, and simple.
"Her artless charm and honest questions immediately won over the panel of interviewers."
Lacking skill, artistry, or finesse; clumsy or poorly executed.
"The critic dismissed the novel's plot as an artless imitation of classic detective fiction."
Word Nuance & Usage
In contemporary usage, 'artless' is most often a compliment meaning innocent, sincere, and free from guile ('art' in the sense of cunning), rather than a criticism meaning lacking artistic skill.
• Rhymes for artless
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the late 16th century, formed from the noun 'art' (from Latin 'ars', meaning skill or craft) and the privative suffix '-less'. Its positive sense of 'free from deceit' developed from the secondary meaning of 'art' as cunning or artifice.