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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Dexterous; deft.
  2. adj. Skillful and adept under pressing conditions. See Synonyms at dexterous.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Dexterous; skilful; expert in the use of the hand, and hence of the mind; ingenious; ready in invention or execution; possessing readiness of resource.
  2. Synonyms Cunning, Artful, Sly, etc. See cunning. Adroit, Dexterous, Expert, Skilful, Clever, smart, handy, apt, quick, subtle. The first four words express primarily various degrees in the combination of manual facility with knowledge. Adroit and dexterous make prominent the idea of a trained hand: as, an adroit pickpocket; a dexterous conjurer, swordsman. Adroitness implies quickness or suddenness; dexterity may require sustained agility. Adroit tends toward sinister figurative meanings: as, an adroit rogue; but mental adroitness may be simply address or tact. Expert emphasizes experience, practice, and hence is commonly a lower word than skilful, which makes knowledge the principal thing: a skilful mechanic makes more use of his mind than an expert mechanic. Clever implies notable quickness, readiness, resource in practical affairs, and sometimes the lack of the larger powers of mind: a clever mechanic has fertility in planning and skill in executing what is planned. A clever statesman may or may not be an able one; a man may be clever in evil.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. dexterous, deft or skillful

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Dexterous in the use of the hands or in the exercise of the mental faculties; exhibiting skill and readiness in avoiding danger or escaping difficulty; ready in invention or execution; -- applied to persons and to acts.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. quick or skillful or adept in action or thought

Etymologies

  1. French, from à droit : à, to (from Latin ad; see ad-) + droit, right (from Latin dīrēctus; see direct).

Examples

  • “In other words, we expect quite a lot from the "adroit" waiter from the point of view of active knowledge gathering and skillful orchestration of movements based on the current cognitive map -- representation of the world and management of the body.”

    Archive 2009-05-01

  • “So what is the standard of competence and performance that we implicitly have in mind when we deploy the standards of "adroit" and "clumsy" when it comes to physical performances?”

    Archive 2009-05-01

  • “But humble people do not claim - as Bernanke does, under Congress 'mandate - the competence to simultaneously produce, with "adroit" policies, price stability and full employment.”

    Latest News

  • “But humble people do not claim -- as Bernanke does, under Congress 'mandate -- the competence to simultaneously produce, with "adroit" policies, price stability and full employment.”

    NY Post: News

  • “If it is not too soon to reuse the word "adroit", that is certainly how I would describe Mr Key's management of the 14-day political transition from Labour to National.”

    Kiwiblog

  • “-- the competence to simultaneously produce, with "adroit" policies, price stability and full employment.”

    Redskins Insider Podcast -- The Washington Post

  • “[Footnote 1: 'adroit' above 'good'.] [Footnote 2: 'extemporary' above 'present', 'solution' in place of”

    Characters from 17th Century Histories and Chronicles

  • “General Petraeus showed a dazzling adroit political strategy in Iraq when he pulled back the tumultuous country from the brink of a collapse in 2007 and 2008.”

    The Huffington Post: Ehsan Azari Stanizai: To Solve Afghanistan's Great Game Climb the Hills and Ask

  • “They thought he had a mind of high creativity and resourcefulness that, when not crossing the line into psychosis, was sharp, adroit, and original.”

    Simon & Schuster: Henry’s Demons

  • “Also, Thompson was a stylist noted for his adroit use of an unreliable narrator.”

    The Huffington Post: Erica Abeel: The Killer Inside Me : Can Battering Women Be Entertainment?

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Lists

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Comments

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  • bilby "Its leader, Khomeini, made adroit use of Shiite history and Iranian nationalism to attract ever-increasing support. He managed to unite the disparate anti-Shah forces, both religious and secular -- including Marxists of various shades -- by his most radical demand: the deposition of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi."
    - Dilip Hiro, The Clash of Islam and Democracy in Iran, tomdispatch.com, 28 June 2009. Jun 29, 2009

‘adroit’ has been looked up 4147 times, loved by 21 people, added to 109 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 7.