adroit

adjective \ə-ˈdrȯit\

: very clever or skillful

Full Definition of ADROIT

: having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations <an adroit leader> <adroit maneuvers>

— adroit·ly adverb

— adroit·ness noun

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Examples of ADROIT

Rumor has always played a role in politics, but rarely have the backstage operatives been so adroit, and so cynical, in their use of vitriol. —Walter Shapiro, Time, 10 July 1989
Family medicine … is constructed around the unquantifiable idea that a doctor who treats your grandmother, your father, your niece, and your daughter will be more adroit in treating you. —John McPhee, Table of Contents, 1984
He was adroit with money and was blessed with the extraordinary Spanish gift of prolific, and even inchoate, invention. —V. S. Pritchett, “Goya … ,” 1975, in A Man of Letters, 1985
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Origin of ADROIT

French, from Old French, from a- (from Latin ad-) + droit right, droit

First Known Use: 1652

Related to ADROIT

Synonyms: skillful, artful, bravura, deft, delicate, dexterous (also dextrous), expert, masterful, masterly, practiced (also practised), virtuoso, workmanlike

Antonyms: amateur, amateurish, artless, rude, unprofessional, unskillful

Synonym Discussion of ADROIT

clever, adroit, cunning, ingenious mean having or showing practical wit or skill in contriving. clever stresses physical or mental quickness, deftness, or great aptitude <a person clever with horses>. adroit often implies a skillful use of expedients to achieve one's purpose in spite of difficulties <an adroit negotiator>. cunning implies great skill in constructing or creating <a filmmaker cunning in his use of special effects>. ingenious suggests the power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something <an ingenious software engineer>.

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>.