Artificious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by a tendency to imitate or feign rather than present natural qualities
2. Describing something that is crafted with a decorous but insincere manner, evoking an impression of authenticity that is ultimately false
3. Displaying qualities that seem forced or not genuine, appearing more manufactured than natural

Etymology: "Artificious" is a word with a short, plain history: it comes from Latin "artificiosus," meaning skilful, ingenious or crafted, built from "ars" (skill, art) and the suffix "-osus" (full of). The Latin sense of artfulness is what gives the English word its meaning. Something artificious shows so much deliberate craft that it no longer looks natural, which is why the sense slid toward "contrived" or "forced." The English adjective keeps that tension. The Latin root produced the everyday "artificial," and "artificious" sits beside it as a more unusual, sharper word for effort that gives itself away.

Synonyms: artificial, contrived, manufactured, unnatural, synthetic

Antonyms: natural, genuine, authentic, real, unmanufactured