mindmap root((技艺)) art distinctively implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power: an ~ for saying the right thing. skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency: the ~ required of a surgeon. cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing: a mystery thriller written with great ~. artifice suggests mechanical skill especially in imitating things in nature, but implies a lack of real creative power and a degree of artificiality: a painter with much of the ~ of Rubens but none of the art. craft may imply ingenuity and skill but tends to suggest expertness in workmanship and facility in the use of tools: a saltcellar wrought with ~ worthy of Cellini.