apt

[ apt ]

adjective

inclined; disposed; given; prone: too apt to slander others.
likely: Am I apt to find him at home?

unusually intelligent; able to learn quickly and easily: an apt pupil.
suited to the purpose or occasion; appropriate: an apt metaphor; a few apt remarks on world peace.
Archaic. prepared; ready; willing.

Origin of apt

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin aptus “fastened, fitted, fitting, appropriate,” equivalent to ap(ere) “fasten, attach” + -tus past participle suffix

synonym study For apt

4. Apt, pertinent, relevant all refer to something suitable or fitting. Apt means to the point and particularly appropriate: an apt comment. Pertinent means pertaining to the matter in hand: a pertinent remark. Relevant means directly related to and important to the subject: a relevant opinion.

usage note For apt

Some usage guides insist that apt followed by an infinitive can or should be used to mean only “inclined, disposed”: He is apt to ignore matters he regards as unimportant. In fact, apt is standard in all varieties of speech and writing as a synonym for likely in contexts that suggest probability without any implication of a natural disposition toward: Hostilities are apt to break out if the confrontation is not soon resolved. She is apt to arrive almost any time now. See also liable, likely.

Other words for apt

1	liable
3	clever, bright; adaptable; handy, adroit, dexterous, skillful
4	fitting, meet, germane, felicitous

See synonyms for apt on Thesaurus.com

Other words from apt

apt·ly, adverb
apt·ness, noun
o·ver·apt, adjective
o·ver·apt·ness, noun

Other definitions for apt. (2 of 2)

apt.

abbreviation,plural apts.

apartment (def. 1).

Origin of apt.

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use apt in a sentence

Naturally and without the least effort the aptest words sprang to his lips in perfect order and sequence.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph Tatlow
It is with his own so beautiful talk, his ability to hear his own voice in the rounded paragraph, that he is aptest to charm one.
Instigations | Ezra Pound
The poet and his brother Gilbert were the aptest pupils in the school, and were generally at the head of the class.
Life of Robert Burns | Thomas Carlyle
He had the most winning tongue, and the aptest spirit in the world to divine the natural inclinations of those he consorted with.
Constance Sherwood | Lady Georgiana Fullerton
But refinement, as it is the less beautiful, so it is the more dangerous extreme, and what we are the aptest to fall into.
The Illustrated London Reading Book | Various

British Dictionary definitions for apt (1 of 2)

apt

/ (æpt) /

adjective

suitable for the circumstance or purpose; appropriate
(postpositive; foll by an infinitive) having a tendency (to behave as specified)

having the ability to learn and understand easily; clever (esp in the phrase an apt pupil)

Origin of apt

C14: from Latin aptus fitting, suitable, from apere to fasten

Derived forms of apt

aptly, adverb
aptness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for apt. (2 of 2)

apt.

abbreviation forplural apts.

apartment

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

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