# artful vs awful

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### artful
*adjective · IPA /ˈɑːtf(ʊ)l/ · frequency rank #33,516*
Characterized by, or performed with, cleverness or contrivance; clever, ingenious.

### awful
*adjective · IPA /ˈɔː.fʊl/ · frequency rank #3,209*
Very bad.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/artful-vs-awful