deft
1deft — [ deft ] adjective deft movements are made quickly and with skill a. moving quickly and with skill: a deft yachtswoman deft at doing something: a chef who is extremely deft at producing original dishes ╾ deft|ly adverb …
2deft — (d[e^]ft), a. [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. d[ae]ft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to dafen, gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth. gadaban to be fit. Cf. {Daft},… …
3deft — [deft] adj written [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: daft] 1.) a deft movement is skilful, and often quick ▪ He sketched her with quick, deft strokes. ▪ deft footwork 2.) skilful at doing something ▪ his deft chairmanship of the company >deftly adv… …
4deft´ly — deft «dehft», adjective. quick and skillful in action; nimble; clever: »The fingers of a violinist or surgeon must be deft. ... one of the deftest juggling performances since the late W. C. Fields laid aside his Indian clubs (Time). SYNONYM(S):… …
5deft. — «dehft», adjective. quick and skillful in action; nimble; clever: »The fingers of a violinist or surgeon must be deft. ... one of the deftest juggling performances since the late W. C. Fields laid aside his Indian clubs (Time). SYNONYM(S): See… …
6deft — deft·ly; deft·ness; deft; …
7deft — [deft] adj. [ME defte, dafte: see DAFT] skillful in a quick, sure, and easy way; dexterous SYN. DEXTEROUS deftly adv. deftness n …
8deft — I adjective able, accomplished, adept, adroit, agile, apt, canny, capable, clever, competent, cunning, dexterous, efficient, expert, facile, flexible, gifted, good at, handy, ingenious, light, masterful, masterly, nimble, nimble fingered,… …
9deft — (adj.) O.E. gedæfte mild, gentle, differentiated in Middle English into DAFT (Cf. daft) (q.v.) and this word, via sense of apt, skillful, adept. Cognate with Goth. gadaban to be fit, O.N. dafna to grow strong, Du. deftig important, relevant …
10deft — adj. adept, skillful; dexterous, agile, nimble …
