Synonyms of artless

artless

adjective

ˈärt-ləs 

1

as in unaffected

free from any intent to deceive or impress others

a genuine and artless girl

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unaffected
• genuine
• simple
• honest
• innocent
• true
• naive
• guileless
• sincere
• ingenuous
• naïve
• real
• spontaneous
• unpretentious
• straightforward
• inexperienced
• unpretending
• natural
• on the level
• unsophisticated
• childlike
• candid
• unworldly
• impressionable
• unstudied
• malleable
• wide-eyed
• simpleminded
• unforced
• plain
• frank
• trustful
• direct
• open
• unguarded
• plainspoken
• trusting
• openhearted
• gee-whiz
• dewy-eyed
• free
• gullible
• persuadable
• single-minded
• free-spoken
• persuasible
• susceptible
• exploitable
• straight
• unwary
• gullable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• artificial
• artful
• false
• dishonest
• pretentious
• insincere
• critical
• cynical
• assuming
• fake
• affected
• phony
• suspicious
• sophisticated
• phoney
• skeptical
• wary
• worldly
• mistrustful
• cosmopolitan
• guileful
• deceptive
• polished
• civilized
• cultured
• refined
• manipulative
• hypocritical
• deceitful
• dissembling
• cultivated
• subtle
• shrewd
• cunning
• crooked
• dissimulating
• sly
• devious
• smooth
• worldly-wise
• wily
• crafty
• sharp
• slick
• slippery
• tricky
• underhanded
• shifty
• foxy
• designing
• flattering
• unctuous
• scheming
• calculating
• arch
• feigned
• knavish
• double-dealing
• strained
• sycophantic
• two-faced
• canny
• forced
• mealymouthed

2

as in clumsy

hastily or roughly constructed

artless though it may be, our homemade doghouse has a certain charm to it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clumsy
• rude
• crude
• rough
• imperfect
• flawed
• primitive
• rough-and-ready
• unrefined
• rudimentary
• defective
• unfinished
• rough-and-tumble
• amateur
• rough-hewn
• jerry-built
• jury-rigged
• inartistic
• jerry-rigged
• amateurish
• faulty
• unpolished
• imprecise
• inexact
• unskilled
• unprofessional
• unskillful
• inexpert
• undressed
• unworked
• unshaped
• unshapen

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• perfect
• refined
• polished
• meticulous
• flawless
• skillful
• well-done
• faultless
• artistic
• finished
• neat
• expert
• adept
• sophisticated
• masterful
• masterly
• adroit
• artful
• practised
• perfected
• practiced
• workmanlike
• precise
• exact
• dexterous
• dextrous

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

Example Sentences

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

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