dexterity

[dek-ster-i-tee]

noun

1. skill or adroitness in using the hands or body; agility.

2. mental adroitness or skill; cleverness.

dexterity

/ dɛkˈstɛrɪtɪ /

noun

1. physical, esp manual, skill or nimbleness

2. mental skill or adroitness: cleverness

3. rare,  the characteristic of being right-handed

Other Word Forms

• nondexterity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dexterity¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin dexteritās “readiness, skillfulness,” from dexter “skillful” + -itās -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of dexterity¹

C16: from Latin dexteritās aptness, readiness, prosperity; see _dexter ¹

Example Sentences

It attacks with all the dexterity of a trained fencer, but with none of the fatigue of a swordsman.

Read more on Literature

The role neatly utilizes Clooney’s gifts for physical comedy, verbal dexterity and conveying inner torment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Railway lines, trucks, plastic products, electronic communication—all have tended both to obviate the need for manual dexterity and to chip away at people’s pride in self-sufficiency.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Forrester analyst Brian Hopkins said the falling costs of components, combined with improvements to robot dexterity and AI, was helping to make humanoid robots feasible for a variety of different settings.

Read more on BBC

It's made from metal and plastic, and fitted with 100 sensors, with the dexterity and strength of a human hand.

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Related Words

• artistry 
• cleverness www.thesaurus.com
• deftness 
• finesse 
• ingenuity 
• knack 
• know-how 
• mastery 
• nimbleness www.thesaurus.com
• proficiency 
• skill 
• smoothness www.thesaurus.com
• tact