Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - artifice

~ n formal 1 the use of clever tricks  (Her charm was all artifice.) 2 a clever trick, especially one used to deceive someone artificial, adj usually before noun 1 not made of natural materials or substances  (artificial sweeteners) 2 not real or natural but deliberately made to look real or natural  (an artificial leg.) 3 artificial behaviour is not natural or sincere because someone is pretending to be something they are not  (an artificial smile) 4 happening because someone has made it happen and not as part of a natural process  (High import taxes give their goods an artificial advantage in the market.) - artificially adv  (Food prices are being kept artificially low.) - artificiality n