artful
art·ful/ˈɑːtf(ʊ)l/adjective
artful is spelled A-R-T-F-U-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (art·ful). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, artful means “Characterized by, or performed with, cleverness or contrivance; clever, ingenious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in artful?
| Letters | 6: A-R-T-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: art·ful |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is artful?
Artful appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce artful?
- US /ˈɑːtf(ʊ)l/
- US /ˈɑɹtf(ə)l/
Artful has 2 syllables, split art·ful in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Mélange_a_trois-artful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of artful
- more artful comparative
- most artful superlative
- artfull
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does artful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by, or performed with, cleverness or contrivance; clever, ingenious.
- 2
Not naturally produced; artificial; imitative.
- 3
Exhibiting or using much art or skill; dexterous; skilful.
- 4
Skilful at using dishonest or unfair means to achieve a purpose; crafty, cunning.
- 5
obsoleteKnowledgeable about the liberal arts; learned, wise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Artful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | artistique , artificieux |
| German | geschickt, trickreich |
| Portuguese | artístico, hábil , ladino, astuto |
| Spanish | diestro, hábil, habiloso, ingenioso , astuto, taimado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does artful come from?
From art (“skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).