: characterized by facility and skill
the photographer's deft use of lighting
the deft fingers of the trumpeter
deftly
adverb
Synonyms
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
In the second period Monday, Kostin showed his soft hands with a deft deflection of a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot that got past Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, bringing the Sharks to within one.
—
Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
So began an unlikely tale of man and bird that has captivated Turkey as the passing years — and a deft social media campaign by a local nature photographer — have spread the pair’s story as a modern-day fable of cross-species friendship.
—Safak Timur Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
With a deft touch and unwavering attention to detail, Capilclinic's surgeons extract individual hair follicles from the donor area, typically the back or sides of the scalp, and carefully transplant them into the recipient area where hair loss has occurred.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Although often victorious, young Heidi wasn’t as deft as some of her competitors in making her arguments more personal.
—Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post, 9 Feb. 2024
Clips from the box-office failure show Wilder at his Yiddish-spouting, Hasidic-garbed best; veteran producer Mace Neufeld reminisces about the production and Wilder’s deft contributions.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
His deft musicality and visual finesse creates more than a dance.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But the scene that encapsulates his deft hand with the genre is one in which his character, Howard, walks in on Streisand's Judy in the bath, swiftly dropping his pants in shock, leaving him in nothing but his boxer shorts and his bow tie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2023
That spectacle is led with Scott Evan Guggenheim’s deft direction of his talented cast, with Ric Iverson’s turn as Springer achieving a nice balance of the television host’s befuddlement and sketchy inquiry of his oddball guests.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024
Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
So began an unlikely tale of man and bird that has captivated Turkey as the passing years — and a deft social media campaign by a local nature photographer — have spread the pair’s story as a modern-day fable of cross-species friendship.
—Safak Timur Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
With a deft touch and unwavering attention to detail, Capilclinic's surgeons extract individual hair follicles from the donor area, typically the back or sides of the scalp, and carefully transplant them into the recipient area where hair loss has occurred.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Although often victorious, young Heidi wasn’t as deft as some of her competitors in making her arguments more personal.
—Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post, 9 Feb. 2024
Clips from the box-office failure show Wilder at his Yiddish-spouting, Hasidic-garbed best; veteran producer Mace Neufeld reminisces about the production and Wilder’s deft contributions.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
His deft musicality and visual finesse creates more than a dance.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But the scene that encapsulates his deft hand with the genre is one in which his character, Howard, walks in on Streisand's Judy in the bath, swiftly dropping his pants in shock, leaving him in nothing but his boxer shorts and his bow tie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2023
That spectacle is led with Scott Evan Guggenheim’s deft direction of his talented cast, with Ric Iverson’s turn as Springer achieving a nice balance of the television host’s befuddlement and sketchy inquiry of his oddball guests.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deft.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near deft
Cite this Entry
“Deft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deft. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deft
adjective
: quick and skillful in action
knitting with deft fingers
deftly
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share