1. clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others
2. clever or artful skill; ingenuity

Examples

• The magician’s performance was full of clever artifice.
• She used artifice to manipulate the situation in her favor.
• The novel’s plot relies too heavily on artifice rather than genuine emotion.
• His speech was free of artifice and spoke directly to the heart.
• The architect’s artifice created an illusion of greater space.
• Without artifice or pretense, she told the simple truth.