Dictionary

deftly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈdɛftli/ (UK, US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English deft Middle English -ly English -ly English deftly From deft + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a deft manner; quickly and neatly in action.
   • For five minutes Pollyanna worked swiftly, deftly, combing a refractory curl into fluffiness, perking up a drooping ruffle at the neck, or shaking a pillow into plumpness so that the head might have a better pose. Meanwhile the sick woman, frowning prodigiously, and openly scoffing at the whole procedure, was, in spite of herself, beginning to tingle with a feeling perilously near to excitement. 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 8, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:
   • Set in Amritsar, “Rab” reteams the director Aditya Chopra with Shahrukh Khan, Hindi cinema's reigning superstar, and the two deftly and winningly blend comedy and melodrama. 2009 January 2, “Movie Listings”, in New York Times:
   • […] and proceeds to deftly execute an over-the-falls, a cat's cradle and two around-the-worlds 1970, John Grissim, Country Music: White Man's Blue, page 52:
   • Being Erica: Though not perhaps technically a traditional "sitcom," it is a rather unique situation and often very deftly comic, courtesy of Michael Riley and breakout star Erin Karpluk[…] 2009 July 5, Rob Salem, “Been there, done that, seen it all? Here are a few surprises”, in Toronto Star:

Forms

Antonyms

unskillfully

Synonyms

skillfully

Translations (30)

pl zwinnie (in a deft manner) · uk вправно (in a deft manner) · pl zręcznie (in a deft manner) · cmn 熟练地 (in a deft manner) · ka მარჯვედ (in a deft manner) · de sicher und geschickt (in a deft manner) · de gewandt (in a deft manner) · fr habilement (in a deft manner) · pl zgrabnie (in a deft manner) · ru расторопно (in a deft manner) · it abilmente (in a deft manner) · pt habilmente (in a deft manner) · oc abilamen (in a deft manner) · ru искусно (in a deft manner) · gl habilmente (in a deft manner) · ka მოხერხებულად (in a deft manner) · ru споро (in a deft manner) · ru ловко (in a deft manner) · uk спритно (in a deft manner) · de flink (in a deft manner) · es hábilmente (in a deft manner) · cmn 灵巧地 (in a deft manner) · ka ოსტატურად (in a deft manner) · ka გაწაფულად (in a deft manner) · ka მკვირცხლად (in a deft manner) · ca hàbilment (in a deft manner) · cmn 敏捷地 (in a deft manner) · ru проворно (in a deft manner) · cs obratně (in a deft manner) · ka მარდად (in a deft manner)