nimble

nim·ble

adjective \ˈnim-bəl\

nim·bler \-b(ə-)lər\ nim·blest \-b(ə-)ləst\

Definition of NIMBLE

1

: quick and light in motion : agile <nimble fingers>

2

a : marked by quick, alert, clever conception, comprehension, or resourcefulness <a nimble mind>

b : responsive, sensitive <a nimble listener>

— nim·ble·ness \-bəl-nəs\ noun

— nim·bly \-blē\ adverb

Examples of NIMBLE

1. <possessing a nimble wit, he always has a cutting comeback for any intended insult thrown his way>
2. <her nimble fingers make knitting look so easy>

Origin of NIMBLE

Middle English nimel, from Old English numol holding much, from niman to take; akin to Old High German neman to take, Greek nemein to distribute, manage, nomos pasture, nomos usage, custom, law

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to NIMBLE

Synonyms

alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, exceptional, fast, hyperintelligent, keen, intelligent, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart

Antonyms

airheaded, birdbrained, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unbrilliant, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless

Related Words

apt, ingenious, resourceful; acute, astute, discerning, heady, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sapient, savvy, wise; cerebral, erudite, genial, highbrow, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, well-read; educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained; creative, inventive, judicious, prudent, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, sound, wise; crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily; logical, rational, reasonable

Near Antonyms

feebleminded, simpleminded; boobish, foolish, half-baked, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic, silly; ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, nonintellectual, unacademic, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking; absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zany

Rhymes with NIMBLE

cymbal, gimbal, symbol, thimble, timbale, Trimble, tymbal, wimble