Dexterous

//ˈdɛkstɹəs// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Skillful with one's hands.

    "She is pleasingly dexterous with the chopsticks, and keeps one hand lying palm up on her lap. Pinched with just the right pressure between the sticks; funny how plump women have that delicate touch."

  2. 2
    Skillful in some specific thing.

    "We went frequently out with this boat a-fishing; and as I was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went without me."

  3. 3
    Agile; flexible; able to move fluidly and gracefully.
  4. 4
    Skilled at argumentation; mentally skillful; quick-witted. archaic, figuratively

    "1775, speech by Edmund Burke […] the study [of law] renders men acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defense […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
adroitableadeptagileaptartful

Example

More examples

"The robotic hands are designed to be dexterous, soft and delicate like people."

Etymology

From Latin dexter (“right, ready”) + -ous. Displaced native Old English handcræftiġ.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.