deftly
advUK, US /ˈdɛftli/
Etymology From deft + -ly.
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:
- […] and proceeds to deftly execute an over-the-falls, a cat's cradle and two around-the-worlds1970, John Grissim, Country Music: White Man's Blue, page 52:
2 more examples
- 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:
- 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:
- Synonyms
- skillfully
- Antonyms
- unskillfully