adroit

[uh-droit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adroit ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body.

cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious: an adroit debater.

Origin of adroit

1645–55; < French, Old French: elegant, skillful, equivalent to a- a-⁵ + droit, dreit straight, just, correct < Latin dīrēctus; see direct

Related formsa·droit·ly, adverba·droit·ness, nounun·a·droit, adjectiveun·a·droit·ly, adverbun·a·droit·ness, noun

Can be confusedadroit à droite

Synonyms for adroit

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adroit ON THESAURUS.COM

1. skillful, clever; deft, apt, adept.

Synonym study

1, 2. See dexterous.

Antonyms for adroit

1. clumsy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adroitly

cleanly, nicely, accurately, precisely, methodically, expertly, skillfully, aptly, efficiently, ably, handily, neatly, smoothly, nimbly, deftly, ingeniously, easily, delicately, beautifully, graciously

Examples from the Web for adroitly

Contemporary Examples of adroitly

Simon Elegant, in Time, writes on how Mo adroitly negotiates the edges of censorship.
60 Second Guide to Mo Yan: 2012 Winner of Nobel Prize for Literature
The Daily Beast
October 11, 2012
The result enabled others in the administration, like Geithner, to play Emanuel adroitly.
‘The Escape Artists’ Speed Read: Best Bits on How Obama Bungled Financial Reform
Ben Jacobs
February 26, 2012

Historical Examples of adroitly

"Then see that you use him adroitly to your work," said his mother.
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini
Adroitly he leaped into the seat of the charioteer and seized the reins.
Henry IV, Makers of History
John S. C. Abbott
He adroitly slipped some napoleons into the man's hand as he spoke.
Tony Butler
Charles James Lever
Thereupon she pushed me adroitly, and made me fall' an the sofa.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
He was lame, but he walked so adroitly that his defect did not appear.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for adroitly

adroit

adjective

skilful or dexterous

quick in thought or reaction

Derived Formsadroitly, adverbadroitness, noun

Word Origin for adroit

C17: from French à droit according to right, rightly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adroitly

adroit

adj.

1650s, "dexterous," originally "rightly," from French adroit, from phrase à droit "according to right," from Old French à "to" (see ad-) + droit "right," from Late Latin directum "right, justice," accusative of Latin directus "straight" (see direct (v.)). Related: Adroitly; adroitness.