daft

adjective

ˈdaft 

 also  ˈdäft

1

chiefly British, informal : silly, foolish

Don't do anything daft.

see also daft as a brush

2

chiefly British, informal : mad, insane

… he looks at me as if I were daft.

—Johanna McGeary

3

Scotland : frivolously merry

daftly adverb

daftness

ˈdaf(t)-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• balmy
• barmy [chiefly British]
• bats
• batty
• bedlam
• bonkers
• brainsick
• bughouse [slang]
• certifiable
• crackbrained
• cracked
• crackers
• crackpot
• cranky [dialect]
• crazed
• crazy
• cuckoo
• daffy
• demented
• deranged
• fruity [slang]
• gaga
• haywire
• insane
• kooky
• kookie
• loco [slang]
• loony
• looney
• loony tunes
• looney tunes
• lunatic
• mad
• maniacal
• maniac
• mental
• meshuga
• meshugge
• meshugah
• meshuggah
• moonstruck
• non compos mentis
• nuts
• nutty
• psycho
• psychotic
• scatty [chiefly British]
• screwy
• unbalanced
• unhinged
• unsound
• wacko
• whacko
• wacky
• whacky
• wud [chiefly Scottish]

Examples of daft in a Sentence

Your idea seems a bit daft to me.

She looked at us as if we'd gone daft.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hulu 'Shaun of the Dead' (2004) Edgar Wright's beloved breakthrough zombie comedy puts a daft spin on an undead apocalypse, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as loyal best friends ill-prepared for normal everyday life, much less an existential emergency. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024

Due to some daft scheduling, the match was played under the baking afternoon sun - around 100 degrees Fahrenheit - in this famously harsh climate. —Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024

Lots of music by Bach, of course, but also jazzy improvisations and a concert to celebrate a daft knight-errant. —Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2024

In the twisted thriller Saltburn, Pike wowed critics as the fabulous yet daft Lady Elspeth Catton opposite fellow Globe nominee Barry Keoghan as the devious Oliver Quick. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 8 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English daffte, daft, defte "well-mannered, gentle, dull, foolish," going back to Old English gedæfte "gentle, mild, meek," adjective derivative of a Germanic base *daƀ- "becoming, fit" (whence also Old English gedafen "appropriate, fitting," Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable," with lengthened grade Old English gedēfe "fitting, worthy, quiet, tranquil," Middle Dutch onghedoef "wild, rough," Gothic gadob ist "it is fitting"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *d^hab^h- or *d^hob^h-, whence also Old Church Slavic podobati "to become, be fitting," dobrŭ "good, pleasant," Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian dôba, dȍba "time, season," Lithuanian dabà "nature, character," dabnùs "well-dressed, elegant"

Note: The sense progression from Germanic to Modern English is apparently "fit, becoming" to "well-mannered, modest" to "dull, stupid" to "foolish, irrational." See also deft.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing daft

• as daft as a brush
• daft as a brush

Kids Definition

daft

adjective

ˈdaft 

chiefly British, informal

1

: foolish, silly

2

: insane, mad

daftly adverb

daftness

ˈdaf(t)-nəs 

noun