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View synonyms for left-handed

left-handed

[ left-han-did ]

adjective

  1. having the left hand more dominant or effective than the right; preferably using the left hand:

    a left-handed pitcher.

  2. adapted to or performed by the left hand:

    a left-handed tool; a left-handed tennis serve.

  3. situated on the side of the left hand.
  4. Machinery.
    1. rotating counterclockwise.
    2. noting a helical or spiral member, as a gear tooth or screw thread, that twists counterclockwise as it recedes from an observer.
  5. Building Trades. left-hand ( def 3 ).
  6. ambiguous or doubtful and often unfavorable or derogatory by implication:

    a left-handed compliment.

  7. clumsy or awkward.
  8. of, relating to, or issuing from a morganatic marriage: so called from the custom, in morganatic marriage ceremonies, of having the bridegroom give his left hand to the bride.


adverb

  1. with the left leave left hand:

    He writes left-handed.

  2. toward the left leave left hand; in a counterclockwise direction:

    The strands of the rope are laid left-handed.

left-handed

adjective

  1. using the left hand with greater ease than the right
  2. performed with the left hand
  3. designed or adapted for use by the left hand
  4. worn on the left hand
  5. awkward or clumsy
  6. ironically ambiguous

    a left-handed compliment

  7. turning from right to left; anticlockwise
  8. law another term for morganatic
“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


adverb

  1. with the left hand
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˌleft-ˈhandedness, noun
  • ˌleft-ˈhandedly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • left-handed·ly adverb
  • left-handed·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of left-handed1

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; left 1, handed
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Example Sentences

Besides, he was left-handed, and top-notch left-handed golfers are almost as rare as left-handed catchers.

Next day, he bet the winner double their first bet that he could beat him playing left-handed.

Apparently, a fair number of left-handed people die each year from using right-handed products incorrectly.

Yes, especially as the doctors agree that Mr. Adams was killed by a left-handed blow.

I sawed under limbs and over limbs, right-handed and left-handed, standing on my feet and on my head.

The king he give me a left-handed look out of the corner of his eye, and so I knowed enough to talk on the right side.

Of course there might be left-handed piano players, but certainly all the fiddlers and all the conductors are right-handed.

This thread is a left-handed thread and must be cut with the left dies.

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left-hand buoyleft-handed compliment