deft

adjective

ˈdeft 

: characterized by facility and skill

the photographer's deft use of lighting

the deft fingers of the trumpeter

deftly adverb

deftness

ˈdef(t)-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of deft

• virtuoso
• skillful
• masterful
• delicate
• expert
• artistic
• smooth
• adroit

Choose the Right Synonym for deft

dexterous, adroit, deft mean ready and skilled in physical movement.

dexterous implies expertness with consequent facility and quickness in manipulation.

unrolled the sleeping bag with a dexterous toss

adroit implies dexterity but usually also stresses resourcefulness or artfulness or inventiveness.

the magician's adroit response to the failure of her prop won applause

deft emphasizes lightness, neatness, and sureness of touch or handling.

a surgeon's deft manipulation of the scalpel

Examples of deft in a Sentence

The photographer is known for her deft use of lighting.

a luthier whose deft craftsmanship is prized by violinists the world over

Recent Examples on the Web

The 20-year-old Smith has seven goals and 11 assists with the latest coming on a deft cross-ice pass that set up Celebrini's first goal of the night less than two minutes into the game. —CBS News, 19 Nov. 2025

Often, films about characters who don’t realize they are being pitied can make for difficult viewing, but in Richard Linklater’s deft hands, Hart is rendered as an artist ahead of his time, down on his luck, and too enamored with the bottle to escape that predicament. —Samantha Allen, Them., 17 Nov. 2025

Ending the war in Ukraine on favorable terms and preserving a fragile truce in Gaza will require deft navigation of these dilemmas. —Rebecca Lissner, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025

The Borg represent our fear of erasure, of disappearing into a vast, flat, and uncaring bureaucracy, and are one of modern fiction's most deft updates to the existential horror first popularized in the fiction of Franz Kafka. —Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

perhaps continuing Middle English daffte, daft, defte "well-mannered, gentle, dull, foolish" — more at daft

Note: Rather than being derived directly from Middle English, Modern English deft may go back to an unattested Old English *gedefte (with umlaut), with a meaning "fit, ready" developing to "apt, skilfull"; the sense shift is otherwise difficult to account for, though the lack of any certain attestation of deft in the sense "skillful" before the later 16th century makes this scenario hypothetical.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deft

• cleft
• heft
• left
• theft
• bereft

Kids Definition

deft

adjective

ˈdeft 

: quick and skillful in action

knitting with deft fingers

deftly adverb

deftness

ˈdef(t)-nəs 

noun