inartful

I1N1A1R1T1F4U1L1

adjective

Awkwardly expressed but not necessarily untrue; ill-phrased; inexpedient

Similar
clumsyunartful
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

adjectiveinartful (comparative more inartful, superlative most inartful)

comparative more inartful · superlative most inartful

  1. Awkwardly expressed but not necessarily untrue; ill-phrased; inexpedient

    2008, Barack Obama, prepared statement, quoted in William Safire, “Inartful”, The New York Times Magazine, 2008 July 20, The fact that […] General Clark said something that was inartful about John McCain, I don’t think is what is keeping Ohioans up at night.

    Synonyms: clumsy, unartful

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveAwkwardly expressed but not necessarily untrue; ill-phrased; inexpedient

Similar
clumsyunartful
Also see
unartful

Origin

Alteration of earlier unartful, equivalent to in- + artful.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

trainful
Cite this entry
APA

inartful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inartful

MLA

“inartful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inartful. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inartful,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inartful.

Source: inartful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.