daft

American  

[daft, dahft] / dæft, dɑft /

adjective

dafter, daftest

1. senseless, stupid, or foolish.

2. insane; crazy.

3. Scot. merry; playful; frolicsome.

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daft British  

/ dɑːft /

adjective

1. informal foolish, simple, or stupid

2. a slang word for insane

3. informal extremely fond (of)

4. slang frivolous; giddy

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Other Word Forms

• daftness
  noun
• daftly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of daft

before 1000; Middle English dafte uncouth, awkward; earlier, gentle, meek, Old English dæfte; cf. deft

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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?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

daft dafter daftest

"It is not an old diversion that was never cancelled, it is one of these daft diversions that make no sense," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Still, for the most part, the storytelling is daft fun; Holly and Arabella may not really get anywhere, but Ms. Cavalli should certainly keep going.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

At the time, England's David James was one of several players to criticise the ball, saying it would "allow extra goals" and "make some goalkeepers look daft".

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

Yet, the film pulls off its share of daft, button-pushing jokes, too.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

“I trust you’re not going daft, Duane,” he said impatiently.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Maybe you think it could be longer, louder, downright dafter?

From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2022

Of all golden-age fallacies, none is dafter than that there was a time when politicians purveyed unvarnished truth.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 26, 2017

Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories Totally undanceable, dafter than ever—and a wire-to-wire triumph.

From Slate ● May 21, 2013

All of the above except Johnson were signed by Hughes, who also either thought or was persuaded that Terry would have been a good buy at an even dafter price.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 21, 2010

Now I was fairly daft, and every minute growing dafter.

From Greenmantle by John Buchan

What’s so surprising about it is that Federer has a reputation for being head-boy sensible; here, he’s the daftest kid in the class.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 18, 2016

"She had unerring skill to make the daftest, silliest thing sound absolutely real and absolutely plausible," he added.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2014

"It's one of the daftest mistakes of my life," he says.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2012

Only today a list of Britain's 10 daftest health and safety rulings revealed that Butlins prohibited dodgems from hitting each other, school sack races have ben banned, as has kite flying on the beach.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2011

I often tell him he's the daftest in a' the house.—But what are they making sic a skirling for?—Deil ane o' them's get in here—it wadna be mensfu'!

From The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Volume 2 by Sir Walter Scott

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