deft

(dĕft)

adj. deft·er, deft·est

Quick and skillful; adroit. See Synonyms at dexterous.

[Middle English dafte, defte, gentle, humble, well-mannered, from Old English dafte, meek.]

deft′ly adv.

deft′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

deftness - skillful performance or ability without difficulty; "his quick adeptness was a product of good design"; "he was famous for his facility as an archer"

adeptness, adroitness, quickness, facility

skillfulness - the state of being cognitively skillful

touch - deftness in handling matters; "he has a master's touch"

dexterity, manual dexterity, sleight - adroitness in using the hands

deftness

noun skill, ability, facility, expertise, competence, coordination, finesse, agility, proficiency, dexterity, cleverness, neatness, nimbleness, adroitness, adeptness a player who combines deftness of touch with superb technique
incompetence, ineptitude, awkwardness, clumsiness, cack-handedness (informal), ham-fistedness (informal)

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

deftness

noun

Skillfulness in the use of the hands or body:

adroitness, dexterity, dexterousness, prowess, skill, sleight.

Translations

رَشاقَه ، لَباقَه

obratnostzručnost

behændighedsnilde

leikni

deftness

[ˈdeftnɪs] N → destreza f, habilidad f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

deftness

[ˈdɛftnɪs] n → adresse f, dextérité f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

deftness

n → Flinkheit f, → Geschicktheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

deftness

[ˈdɛftnɪs] n → abilità f inv, destrezza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

deft

(deft) adjective

skilful, quick and neat. his deft handling of the situation.

ˈdeftly adverb

ˈdeftness noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

But a dog, clutched by the neck from the back, can never be a match for two men, gifted with the intelligence and deftness of men, each of them two-handed with four fingers and an opposable thumb to each hand.

View in context

Such an affair as the present, staged with a deftness that was almost beautiful, lay beyond her powers and those of her friends.

View in context

West, the well-known Brooklyn educator, was then in charge of the school, and remembers the lad's deftness in English composition, and his struggles with mathematics.

View in context

He liked the deftness with which her hands worked the pie dough, the quick way she moved between stove and table, yet mingled with this admiration was a slight but distinct hostility.

View in context

He struck me as stupid, and yet the deftness with which he worked with his one hand seemed to belie his stupidity.

View in context

Tartar, with a wave of his hand and the deftness of a cat, had already dipped through his scuttle of scarlet runners without breaking a leaf, and 'gone below.'

View in context

An' I'd better niver ha' had a son, as is like no other body's son for the deftness an' th' handiness, an' so looked on by th' grit folks, an' tall an' upright like a poplar-tree, an' me to be parted from him an' niver see 'm no more."

View in context

Sympathetic deftness might be thought of as social intelligence.

Adam Smith and Human Resources: The Moral Challenges of Modern Society

And yet, thanks to his laserlike precision in skewering nonsensical topics with humour and deftness, now you do.

REVIEWS

So a certain deftness in international diplomacy could well make the difference between the country making a successful transition to an interim government, with democratic elections to follow, or it descending into a bloody civil war.

US Must Not Intervene Physically In Venezuela

Again, as is customary with Carroll's writing, inclusion of these issues is done with a deftness of touch that never detracts from, or jars with, the storytelling.

Secrets of a Sun King