Dictionary

artless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑɹt.lɪs/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis Proto-Italic *artis Latin ars Latin artemder. Old French artbor. Middle English art English art Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English artless From art + -less.

Meanings

1. Having or displaying no guile, cunning, or deceit.
   • And why should I here suppress the delight I received from this amiable creature, in remarking each artless look, each motion of pure undissembled nature, betrayed by his wanton eyes 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
   • I am convinced of her being an artless, amiable girl, with very good notions, very seriously good principles, and placing her happiness in the affections and utility of domestic life. 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume III, chapter 18:
   • What passions our friendships were in those old days, how artless and void of doubt! 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 19, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
2. Free of artificiality; natural.
   • This pendant has artless charm.
3. Lacking art, knowledge, or skill; uncultured and ignorant.
4. Poorly made or done; crude.

Forms

Antonyms

callow · wet behind the ears · cute · wide-eyed · artless · quaint · green · starry-eyed · dewy-eyed · Panglossic · clueless · unworldly · credulous · unaffected · innocent · Panglossian · unpretentious · unsophisticated · verdant · immature · simple-minded · untested · undesigning · born yesterday · guileless · fleeceable · childlike · jejune · simple-hearted · simple · foppotee · ingenuous · virgin

Deriveds

artlessness · artlessly

Synonyms

Panglossian · unworldly · wide-eyed · unpretentious · childlike · simple-hearted · cute · guileless · unaffected · artless · fleeceable · green · unsophisticated · undesigning · callow · foppotee · innocent · dewy-eyed · virgin · ingenuous · jejune · starry-eyed · born yesterday · verdant · clueless · untested · simple · quaint · simple-minded · wet behind the ears · immature · Panglossic · credulous

Translations (24)

eo simplanima (without guile or cunning) · eo senartifika (without guile or cunning) · cs přirozený (natural) · fi viaton (without guile or cunning) · cs bezelstný (without guile or cunning) · cs prostý (natural) · fi luonnollinen (natural) · bg естествен (natural) · ru бесхи́тростный (without guile or cunning) · ota ساده (without guile or cunning) · fa بیشیلهپیله (without guile or cunning) · cs neumělý (poorly made, crude) · es cándido (without guile or cunning) · bg непринуден (natural) · ota طوی (without guile or cunning) · fi tökerö (poorly made, crude) · eo naiva (without guile or cunning) · fa بیدغل (without guile or cunning) · eo senarta (natural) · ga soineanta (without guile or cunning) · es natural (natural) · fi taiteeton (lacking art or skill) · cs upřímný (without guile or cunning) · cs nestrojený (natural)