daft
Americanadjective
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senseless, stupid, or foolish.
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insane; crazy.
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Scot. merry; playful; frolicsome.
adjective
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informal foolish, simple, or stupid
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a slang word for insane
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informal extremely fond (of)
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slang frivolous; giddy
Other Word Forms
- daftly adverb
- daftness noun
Etymology
Origin of daft
before 1000; Middle English dafte uncouth, awkward; earlier, gentle, meek, Old English dæfte; deft
Explanation
Daft means "foolish, wacky, or nutty." like your daft idea of wearing flip-flops to hike through the snow so that you didn't ruin your boots. When the adjective daft is used, you know something extremely silly or obviously goofy is involved — like setting all your money on fire to keep warm, instead of just using it to buy a coat. Some synonyms for daft are absurd, ridiculous, senseless and idiotic, so if someone calls you "daft," maybe you should rethink what you are trying to accomplish: Is there a better way to do it?
Vocabulary lists containing daft
The Crucible
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 2
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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.
One can be a fan of “Marty Supreme” and still think Chalamet’s comments were daft.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
Politics in the 2020s change fast, and it is daft to try to predict what could happen next.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
It only took until that afternoon for people to realize that the argument was daft.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025
Successive face-lifts have finally erased the original’s daft, Cheshire Cat smile, formed by the grille’s upturned corners.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 25, 2025
“She’s daft as a loon. Will say anything to anyone—not that it will make much sense.”
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
