
Simple Definition of adroit
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: very clever or skillful
Examples of adroit
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Rumor has always played a role in politics, but rarely have the backstage operatives been s oadroit, and so cynical, in their use of vitriol. —Walter Shapiro, Time, 10 July 1989
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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
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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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She is adroit at handling problems.
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<with an adroit flick of the wrist, flipped the omelet into the air and landed it squarely back in the pan>
Origin of adroit
French, from Old French, from a- (from Latin ad-) + droit right, droit
First Known Use: 1652
Synonym Discussion of adroit
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 adexterous 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>. deftemphasizes lightness, neatness, and sureness of touch or handling <a surgeon’s deftmanipulation of the scalpel>.
