artless

[ahrt-lis] /ˈɑrt lɪs/
adjective
1.
free from deceit, cunning, or craftiness; ingenuous:
an artless child.
2.
not artificial; natural; simple; uncontrived:
artless beauty; artless charm.
3.
lacking art, knowledge, or skill.
4.
poorly made; inartistic; clumsy; crude:
an artless translation.
Origin
1580-90; art1 + -less
Related forms
artlessly, adverb
artlessness, noun
Synonyms
1. naive, unsophisticated, guileless, open, frank, plain, unaffected, candid, sincere.
Antonyms
1. cunning.
Examples from the web for artless
  • His pictures can seem at a superficial glance mundane, even artless.
  • Offers details of individual battles and eighteenth century army life in artless and uninhibited accounts.
  • Rustic was appropriate to rural environments, but neither rude nor artless.
British Dictionary definitions for artless

artless

/ˈɑːtlɪs/
adjective
1.
free from deceit, guile, or artfulness; ingenuous: an artless remark
2.
natural, without artifice; unpretentious: artless elegance
3.
without art or skill
Derived Forms
artlessly, adverb
artlessness, noun
Word Origin and History for artless
adj.

1580s, "unskillful," from art (n.) + -less. Later also "uncultured" (1590s); then "unartificial, natural" (1670s) and "guileless, ingenuous" (1714). Related: Artlessly; artlessness.