In a way that shows skill, cleverness, or creative ability, often implying a degree of cunning or strategic intelligence.
From 'artful' (possessing or showing art and skill) with the adverbial suffix '-ly,' which converts adjectives to adverbs. 'Artful' derives from 'art,' with roots in Latin 'ars' meaning skill or craft.
There's a delicious ambiguity in 'artfully'—it can mean genuinely skillful and beautiful, OR deceitfully clever, and that dual meaning reflects how 'art' itself has always been about both honest creation and strategic manipulation.
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