apt

[ apt ]

/ æpt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apt ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

apsides, apsidiole, apsis, apsu, apsyrtus, apt, apt., apteral, apterium, apterous, apterygial

Origin of apt

1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin aptus fastened, fitted, fitting, appropriate, equivalent to ap- fasten, attach + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR apt

1 liable.

3 clever, bright; adaptable; handy, adroit, dexterous, skillful.

4 fitting, meet, germane, felicitous.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apt ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

apt·ly, adverbapt·ness, nouno·ver·apt, adjectiveo·ver·apt·ly, adverb

o·ver·apt·ness, noun

Can be confused

apt likely (see usage note at likely)

Synonym study

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

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.

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

Examples from the Web for aptly

History itself has been aptly described as an argument un-ended.
The Facts About Ferguson Matter, Dammit|Doug McIntyre|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the same time, she supports her daughter, aptly named Grace, who becomes a Christian in the second season.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism|Regina Lizik|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That goes without saying, as no one woman could aptly represent everyone who identifies within that category.
Lena Vs. The Feminist Police|Amy Zimmerman|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One was about Girl Scout cookies and the other was aptly titled, “I Love It.”
Is John Mulaney the Next Seinfeld?|Kevin Fallon|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“Sugababe,” as it has been aptly titled, garners its name from three parts of the building process.
This Artist Reproduced van Gogh’s Ear…and It’s Alive!|Justin Jones|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has been aptly termed the "princess of the vegetable world."
Equatorial America|Maturin M. Ballou
How aptly has Matthew Arnold said, “O man, how true are thine instincts, how overhasty thine interpretation of them!”
The Brothers' War|John Calvin Reed
It has been aptly remarked that the public is ever more ready to believe pleasing fictions, than disagreeable verities.
Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery|Robert Means Lawrence
Blackstone aptly expresses it, when he says that "the law is always ready to catch at anything in favor of Liberty."
Charles Sumner; His Complete Works, Volume III (of 20)|Charles Sumner
Languedoc is the country of the latter luxury; and Languedoc is in the south of France—aptly termed 'the austere south.'
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 434|Various

British Dictionary definitions for aptly

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)

Derived Forms

aptly, adverbaptness, noun

Word Origin for apt

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

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