Definition of deftnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word deft different from other adjectives like it?

The words adroit and dexterous are common synonyms of deft. While all three words mean "ready and skilled in physical movement," deft emphasizes lightness, neatness, and sureness of touch or handling.

a surgeon's deft manipulation of the scalpel

When is it sensible to use adroit instead of deft?

The words adroit and deft are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, adroit implies dexterity but usually also stresses resourcefulness or artfulness or inventiveness.

the magician's adroit response to the failure of her prop won applause

In what contexts can dexterous take the place of deft?

In some situations, the words dexterous and deft are roughly equivalent. However, dexterous implies expertness with consequent facility and quickness in manipulation.

unrolled the sleeping bag with a dexterous toss

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deft But countries can be convinced by deft diplomacy, including security guarantees and economic relief, to voluntarily give up their aspiration for nuclear weapons. John M. Crisp, Mercury News, 25 June 2026 In between languid lake swims and sensual forest escapades, old crushes surface and new anxieties rear their heads in this deft portrait of millennial disenchantment. Air Mail, 20 June 2026 Her lip was glossed, brick-red, and precisely lined with Hughes’s deft hand. Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 20 June 2026 Putin’s 26 years at the helm of Russia have – until recently – been marked by deft maneuvering, pragmatism, and outsized geopolitical heft. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for deft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deft
Adjective
  • Thanks to more than 200 years of intense and virtuoso scientific work, what were once valid or at least plausible concerns and objections to vaccines have been overcome.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
  • A lot of the movie feels like a virtuoso chase sequence, people barreling down the road, guns blazing.
    Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
Adjective
  • There’s likely to be grasping, resisting, skillful and futile efforts to swim and worry about what’s up ahead.
    Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • One of the few calls of the night was from Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, ready to get his hands on the skillful point guard.
    PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026
Adjective
  • Djokovic put in a masterful performance against a player who had gone in as many people’s favorite after demolishing the champion of two years earlier, Andy Murray, in the semifinals.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • That family history, including people technically unrelated to him, had contributed to this designer’s rather masterful ability to design and tailor.
    Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Adjective
  • The plebeians have plenty to be furious about, but their representatives, skilled at turning a crowd into a mob, seem hellbent on shoring up their own influence.
    Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • It is stored in plain text in RAM and can theoretically be accessed by administrators, cloud operators, hypervisors, or highly skilled attackers through malware, insider threats, or side-channel attacks.
    Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Adjective
  • The chips beneath were noticeably thin, delicate but sturdy enough to retain their crunch.
    Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • The war remains in a delicate ceasefire while both sides attempt to broker a permanent peace deal.
    Dan Mangan,Luke Fountain,Kevin Breuninger,Garrett Downs,Ashley Capoot,Justin Papp, CNBC, 2 July 2026
Adjective
  • That doesn't enable cunning and unprincipled men to subvert the power of the people.
    Lori A Bashian , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
  • For decades, humans mined antibiotic molecules from microbes and tweaked them to develop new drugs, staying ahead of evolution’s cunning countermeasures.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 June 2026
Adjective
  • For full daily and monthly horoscopes as well as expert readings, see our full Horoscopes experience.
    USA TODAY, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • Cottar also explains what made a CEO swap different from hiring an expert consultant.
    Emese Maczko, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Adjective
  • But even opening on 1,500 screens, Harris’ brilliantly dexterous approach proved too much for the film’s marketers.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 2 July 2026
  • Marco Wang, an analyst focusing on Chinese robotics for technology research firm Interact Analysis, said the technical readiness of dexterous robotics hands, for example, are among the lowest in hardware components.
    John Liu, CNN Money, 30 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Deft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deft. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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