artless
adjective
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Artless, ingenuous, and naive all refer to freedom from pretension or calculation, but there are subtle differences in their uses. Ingenuous implies an inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings, while naive suggests a credulous lack of worldly wisdom. Artless generally indicates an appearance of utter naturalness, one in which a person is (or seems to be) innocent of the effect of his or her speech or behavior on others.
Synonyms
- genuine
- guileless
- honest
- ingenuous
- innocent
- naive
- naïve
- natural
- real
- simple
- sincere
- true
- unaffected
- unpretending
- unpretentious
Example Sentences
Jonathan Stevenson, The New York Review of Books, 15 May 2020 On Tuesday, the small-screen vista was limited to artless shots of House impeachment managers and Mr. Trump’s lawyers at their lecterns, with an occasional overhead glimpse of the chamber thrown in. New York Times, 21 Jan. 2020 At 90 minutes or less, this movie’s flat acting, choppy conversations, artless cinematography and sub-David Lynch surrealism would be easy to dismiss. Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2019 These artless snapshots annoy Noah, the grandson of a famous photographer. BostonGlobe.com, 26 Sep. 2019 Polpette were artless spheres of cooked ground beef without enough salt or spice to give them life. Bill Addison, latimes.com, 11 July 2019 Brittany Murphy plays an artless, dorky pageant contestant named Lisa, and Amy Adams is Leslie, a contestant who occupies the obligatory role of slutty cheerleader. Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 5 July 2019 The lyrics are as unadorned as her pole-work is impressive, a juxtaposition of plain, artless language and strenuous performance. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 20 June 2019 The diction is simple, the writing artless; the world of the novel, told in a basic third-person voice, claustrophobic. E. Tammy Kim, The New York Review of Books, 7 Mar. 2019 See More Word History
art entry 1 + -less
1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1
artless
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- unaffected
- genuine
- simple
- honest
- innocent
- true
- guileless
- naive
- ingenuous
- sincere
- unpretentious
- unpretending
- spontaneous
- straightforward
- real
- inexperienced
- natural
- naïve
- unsophisticated
- childlike
- candid
- unworldly
- impressionable
- unstudied
- frank
- simpleminded
- malleable
- plain
- unforced
- trustful
- on the level
- plainspoken
- unguarded
- persuadable
- trusting
- direct
- open
- wide-eyed
- dewy-eyed
- openhearted
- persuasible
- gullible
- free
- gee-whiz
- free-spoken
- exploitable
- single-minded
- susceptible
- straight
- unwary
- gullable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- artful
- artificial
- dishonest
- false
- pretentious
- insincere
- cynical
- critical
- fake
- phony
- assuming
- affected
- suspicious
- sophisticated
- phoney
- worldly
- skeptical
- wary
- guileful
- mistrustful
- deceptive
- cosmopolitan
- polished
- deceitful
- hypocritical
- civilized
- dissembling
- refined
- manipulative
- cultured
- shrewd
- dissimulating
- cunning
- cultivated
- subtle
- sly
- crooked
- devious
- smooth
- wily
- crafty
- sharp
- slick
- worldly-wise
- underhanded
- foxy
- shifty
- slippery
- sycophantic
- tricky
- unctuous
- flattering
- designing
- scheming
- calculating
- knavish
- arch
- feigned
- canny
- two-faced
- strained
- double-dealing
- forced
- mealymouthed
Synonyms & Similar Words
- clumsy
- crude
- rude
- rough
- imperfect
- flawed
- primitive
- unrefined
- rudimentary
- defective
- unfinished
- rough-and-ready
- amateur
- inartistic
- rough-hewn
- jerry-built
- amateurish
- rough-and-tumble
- unpolished
- imprecise
- jury-rigged
- inexact
- unskilled
- jerry-rigged
- unprofessional
- unskillful
- faulty
- inexpert
- undressed
- unshaped
- unworked
- unshapen
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- perfect
- refined
- flawless
- polished
- meticulous
- faultless
- skillful
- artistic
- neat
- workmanlike
- perfected
- adept
- artful
- expert
- finished
- masterful
- masterly
- adroit
- sophisticated
- dextrous
- dexterous
- practised
- practiced
- precise
- well-done
- exact
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of artless are ingenuous, naive, natural, and unsophisticated. While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.
While the synonyms ingenuous and artless are close in meaning, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.
Although the words naive and artless have much in common, naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.
While in some cases nearly identical to artless, natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.
The synonyms unsophisticated and artless are sometimes interchangeable, but unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.
- high lonesome
- high mallow
- high marks
- high mass
- high milling
- high moor
- high noon
- high noons
- high off the hog
- high on
- high on one's list
- high on the hog
- high on the list
- high pain threshold
- high performance
- high place
- High Plains
- high point
- high polymer
- high port
- high priest
- high priestess
- high priestesses
- high priesthood
- high priests