Artful    (pronounced ahrt-ful) adjective   and
Inartful    (pronounced ih-nahrt-ful) adjective


Definition

ARTFUL = 1. performed with, or demonstrating, art or skill. 2. skillful or clever in attaining an end, especially by the use of cunning or craft; inventive and imaginative; adroit.

Main Example

  • A lawsuit that has graced the business pages is the one brought by Kirk Kerkorian who alleges that Daimler-Benz Chairman Jurgen Schrempp acquired Chrysler in 1998 through deception--that he artfully presented the deal as a merger of equals when his real intention was to turn Chrysler into a mere division of Daimler-Benz.

    Workplace Examples

  • You should have been there when Julia spoke. What an artful performance! She made every argument cogently and very succinctly, and she used all sorts of audio, video, and other documentary evidence to support her points. The entire audience was in awe.

  • Yeah, when it comes to critiquing others, Henry can be pretty inartful and tactless. He really needs to learn how to give feedback without causing offense.

    Other Examples

  • your commenting to a fellow manager: "Today was one of my more pathetic and inartful hours. Nothing I said about the new policy seemed to make sense to the employees. I ended up only confusing everyone."

  • the artfully worded sweepstakes mailings, designed to give the impression that your chances of winning will dramatically improve if you order some magazines

  • boiler room operations in Wall Street artfully employing every possible ploy to sell bad investments to unsuspecting Americans

  • poor Senator Lott's inartfully uttered comments during a celebration last year costing him his leadership position in Washington; a company's management handling a PR crisis inartfully and thus getting lots of bad press

  • Ken Burns's documentary "The Civil War" attaining epic status because of its artful blend of crisp narrative, music, sound effects, humor, old photographs and paintings, and background voices that help bring to life a parade of historic figures

    © 2004 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Sisyphean
    Disjunction
    Detritus
    Embittered
    Forestall
    Dispassionate
    Specter

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