artifice

Definition

A crafty but underhanded deception.

Etymology

From Middle French artifice, from Latin artificium.

Example Sentences

• "The notion that consequence can be as easily managed as PR is the ultimate artifice and the ultimate delusion."
• "The heightened worlds of darkly comedic satire and soapy high-school romance make it easy enough to roll with unrealistic casting choices—and that goes for stage musicals, too, where some level of artifice is built into the format."