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Synonym Chooser

How is the word artless different from other adjectives like it?

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.

artless charm

When is it sensible to use ingenuous instead of artless?

While the synonyms ingenuous and artless are close in meaning, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

When would naive be a good substitute for artless?

Although the words naive and artless have much in common, naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

Where would natural be a reasonable alternative to artless?

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.

her unaffected, natural manner

When might unsophisticated be a better fit than artless?

The synonyms unsophisticated and artless are sometimes interchangeable, but unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.

unsophisticated adolescents

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of artless Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo are Patricia and Michel, the gamine and the criminal, simultaneously artless and deliberate. Ew Staff, EW.com, 7 May 2024 His pictures look perfectly artless, the opposite of the decisive moment and the epitome of the snapshot aesthetic. Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024 Cosentino has a rich, burly voice that’s unpretentious without feeling artless. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023 On some slow or rainy day, when the tennis at Wimbledon is banging and artless as a metronome or suspended by weather, do yourself a favor. Sally Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News, 3 July 2023 See all Example Sentences for artless 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for artless
Adjective
  • Despite the order, Canadians can still access TikTok, as the app itself remains unaffected by the directive.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Network connectivity to Meta's frontend web servers remains unaffected.
    Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Far from prolific in front of goal, the Senegalese looked out of sorts, full of running and hunger to score but clumsy, his anxious limbs snatching at chances rather than taking them naturally.
    Henry Flynn, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
  • The first few episodes were rife with clumsy and, at times, confusing time jumps, many that seemed tacked on to preexisting scenes in an effort to retrofit them for a new, Costner-less reality.
    Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • The information the source supplies must be newsworthy and give readers genuine insight.
    Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Once in possession of the session cookie, the attacker can then, effectively, go back at any time and will be treated as a genuine user of your account as the cookie shows that session as, yep, authenticated.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Wondering how to get out of Dodge without being rude?
    Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
  • The officers weren't rude, angry, or insolent — as required of a battery conviction — and used their training and legal authority to do their jobs.
    Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Pay particular attention to Chapters 8 and 20, where Graham discusses the margin of safety concept and the simple but profound concept that buying a share of stock is actually owning part of a whole business.
    Robert Daugherty, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
  • That’s right—a process that can involve doctors’ visits, insurance claims, and out-of-pocket costs was as simple as buying Band-Aids or shampoo or batteries.
    Jasmine Browley, Allure, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Given that Ontario is not a major producer of crude oil, Ford’s threat appeared to specifically apply to electricity the United States imports from Canada.
    Matt Egan, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
  • Canada provides natural gas to the U.S. and roughly 20% of the crude oil used by its southern neighbor.
    Ahmad Mukhtar, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • An honest assessment of human behavior is that price is all that matters.
    Korok Ray, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
    Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Being a rookie who is recovering from a second ACL injury and second ACL surgery soon after recovering from the first ACL injury and surgery is a whole another level of rough.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
  • The report comes during a rough period for the retail pharmacy giant.
    Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Artless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/artless. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on artless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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