1. (a.) Skillful; crafty; cunning; performed with, or characterized by, art or skill; as an artful reply\.

2. (a.) Artificial; imitative.

3. (a.) Using or exhibiting much art, skill, or contrivance; dexterous; skillful.

4. (a.) Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing; crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.]

Byzantine Machiavellian Machiavellic acute adroit ambidextrous arch astute cagey calculating canny chiseling clever collusive covinous crafty crooked cunning cute deceitful deep deep-laid designing devious dexterous diplomatic dishonest disingenuous double double-dealing double-faced double-minded double-tongued doublehearted duplicitous facile faithless FALSE false-principled falsehearted feline finagling forsworn foxy fraudulent furtive guileful indirect ingenious insidious insincere inventive knowing oily pawky perfidious perjured politic ready resourceful scheming serpentine sharp shifty shrewd slick slippery sly smooth snaky sneaky sophistical specious stealthy strategic suave subtile subtle superficial supple surreptitious tactical treacherous trickish tricksy tricky two-faced uncandid underhand underhanded unfrank unsincere untruthful vulpine wary wily