ambidextrous
Americanadjective
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able to use both hands equally well.
an ambidextrous surgeon.
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unusually skillful; facile.
an ambidextrous painter, familiar with all media.
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double-dealing; deceitful.
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Slang. bisexual.
adjective
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equally expert with each hand
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informal highly skilled or adept
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underhanded; deceitful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ambidextrous
First recorded in 1640–50; ambidext(e)r + -ous
Explanation
Ambidextrous people have the ability to use both hands with equal dexterity. But the ambidextrous probably prefer to write with their right hands, since lefties always smudge what they've written as they drag their hand across the page. Coming from the Latin word ambidexter, which means “right-handed on both sides,” ambidextrous describes someone who can use either hand to write, swing a bat or catch a ball. Lucky ducks. In a broader sense ambidextrous means "facile" or "skillful." But when it first came into use in the 1530's, ambidextrous had more sinister connotations with the practice of deceitful double-dealing.
Vocabulary lists containing ambidextrous
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Don't Distress: Words With Irregular Opposites
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte and reliever John Axford, who came over from Toronto at the trade deadline in August, didn’t make the roster.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2018
The world already had plenty of holidays to keep up with, we really didn't need National Ambidextrous Mint Chocolate Chip Lovers Day or whatever.
From Golf Digest • Sep. 13, 2018
Ambidextrous, he could write two letters at once.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ambidextrous, he hurled the javelin with the other, finished seventh in the Decathlon.*
From Time Magazine Archive
Because it has been found that children trained on Ambidextrous lines develop neurotic symptoms.
From Feminism and Sex-Extinction by Kenealy, Arabella
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
