daft

adjective

ˈdaft 

also ˈdäft

1

chiefly British, informal : silly, foolish

Don't do anything daft.

see also daft as a brush

2

chiefly British, informal : mad

… he looks at me as if I were daft.

—Johanna McGeary

3

Scotland : frivolously merry

daftly adverb

daftness

ˈdaf(t)-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of daft

• stupid
• silly
• foolish
• absurd
• insane
• mad
• crazy
• idiotic

Examples of daft in a Sentence

Your idea seems a bit daft to me.

She looked at us as if we'd gone daft.

Recent Examples on the Web

Proving that there’s nothing MAGA love like overkill, there’s also whole lot of George Washington (including a historically daft 2010 Dodge Challenger ad) in the almost hangover inducing 40-second spot. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Nov. 2025

The sums paid for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak may look a little daft right now, with their one goal and four assists from a combined 22 appearances, but Caicedo, Rice and indeed Enzo Fernandez show that repaying those fees may take time and a little patience. —Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

Hulu 'Shaun of the Dead' (2004) Edgar Wright's beloved breakthrough zombie comedy puts a daft spin on an undead apocalypse, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as loyal best friends ill-prepared for normal everyday life, much less an existential emergency. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025

Grizzled and angry where his Police Squad daddy (Leslie Nielsen) was daft and entitled, Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. is a widowed copper struggling to play by the rules in a new era of police accountability. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 30 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English daffte, daft, defte "well-mannered, gentle, dull, foolish," going back to Old English gedæfte "gentle, mild, meek," adjective derivative of a Germanic base *daƀ- "becoming, fit" (whence also Old English gedafen "appropriate, fitting," Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable," with lengthened grade Old English gedēfe "fitting, worthy, quiet, tranquil," Middle Dutch onghedoef "wild, rough," Gothic gadob ist "it is fitting"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *d^hab^h- or *d^hob^h-, whence also Old Church Slavic podobati "to become, be fitting," dobrŭ "good, pleasant," Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian dôba, dȍba "time, season," Lithuanian dabà "nature, character," dabnùs "well-dressed, elegant"

Note: The sense progression from Germanic to Modern English is apparently "fit, becoming" to "well-mannered, modest" to "dull, stupid" to "foolish, irrational." See also deft.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing daft

• as daft as a brush
• daft as a brush

Rhymes for daft

• aft
• chaffed
• craft
• draft
• draught
• graft
• graphed
• haft
• kraft
• laughed
• raft
• shaft

Kids Definition

daft

adjective

ˈdaft 

chiefly British, informal

1

: foolish, silly

2

: insane, mad

daftly adverb

daftness

ˈdaf(t)-nəs 

noun