Search the Dictionary

Dexterous; neat. [Obs.] Johnson. -- Feat"e*ous*ly, adv.

Neatly; dexterously; nimbly. [Archaic] Foot featly here and there. Shak.

To act on the defensive, or in opposition; to resist; to parry; to shift off. The dexterous management of terms, and being able to fend . . . with them, passes for a great part of learning. Locke.

Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! Pope. The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery. Dryden. He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman. T. Gray.

ocity; as, the forwardnessof spring or of corn; the forwardness of a pupil. He had such a dexterous proclivity, as his teachers were fain to restrain his forwardness. Sir H. Wotton.

Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy; profitable; cheap; respectable. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Handily; readily; dexterously; advantageously. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Clever; skillful; dexterous; ready; handy; -- followed especially by at. He . . . is a good workman; a very good tailor. Shak. Those are generally good at flattering who are good for nothing else. South.

Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [Obs.] That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about. Robynson (Utopia). For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him. Spenser.

Skillful in using the hand; dexterous; ready; adroit. "Each is handy in his way." Dryden.

Dexterous; ready; apt; felicitous. One gentleman is happy at a reply, another excels in a in a rejoinder. Swift. Happy family, a collection of animals of different and hostile propensities living peaceably together in one cage. Used ironically of conventional alliances of persons who are in fact mutually repugnant. --…

Skillful; dexterous; clever. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Having the left hand or arm stronger and more dexterous than the right; using the left hand and arm with more dexterity than the right.

Dexterous in taking and conveying away; thievish; pilfering; addicted to petty thefts. Fuller.

Management; dexterous movement; specif., a military or naval evolution, movement, or change of position.

To use the hands in dexterous operations; to do hand work; specifically, to manage the apparatus or instruments used in scientific work, or in artistic or mechanical processes; also, specifically, to use the hand in mesmeric operations.

A dexterous use or trick of the hand. Addison.

Readiness; facility; aptitude. He had such a dexterous proclivity as his teachers were fain to restrain his forwardness. Sir H. Wotton.

; to embarrass; to put to a stand; to nonplus. A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous in puzzling others. Dr. H. More. He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his own blunders. Addison.

Not slow or hesitating; quick in action or perception of any kind; dexterous; prompt; easy; expert; as, a ready apprehension; ready wit; a ready writer or workman. "Ready in devising expedients." Macaulay. Gurth, whose temper was ready, through surly. Sir W. Scott.