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
Etymology
Origin of daft
before 1000; Middle English dafte uncouth, awkward; earlier, gentle, meek, Old English dæfte; cf. 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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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.
See Examples For:
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
She was unaware parking overnight was banned in the village's long-stay car park, and said not allowing campers to pay to stay in empty or quiet sites seemed "a bit daft".
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Where do you suppose he got such daft and dangerous ideas?
From Salon ● May 11, 2026
Just how daft was made clearer by this week’s response from Mr. Griffin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“Busy? Are you that daft, Lizzie? I wanted to walk with you.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Maybe you think it could be longer, louder, downright dafter?
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories Totally undanceable, dafter than ever—and a wire-to-wire triumph.
From Slate ● May 21, 2013
Turning on the nearest cameraman was even dafter.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 7, 2012
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
What could be dafter Than John Skelton's laughter?
From Fairies and Fusiliers by Robert Graves
"It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. I'll be back."
From BBC ● May 18, 2024
It’s just a shame it’s also now one of the daftest.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2017
"She had unerring skill to make the daftest, silliest thing sound absolutely real and absolutely plausible," he added.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2014
And its final shot, as well as failing to resolve any of the hinted-at emotional problems, really is one of the daftest things I have seen for a long time.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 9, 2010
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
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.
