Adroit

adjective

Exhibiting adeptness or intelligence, particularly in dealing with people or situations

Usage

Everyone has certain strengths that set them apart; it's why people work together to get things done. Being a "people person," knowing how to interact with people and persuade them to work together in particular ways, is a tricky skill in itself, and often one that makes harnessing other skills possible. If you know (or are) someone who always knows their way around people, you know someone adroit.

The word adroit describes a person who is particularly adept or intelligent, or describes an action (usually an ability or skill) that is done in a masterful fashion. When said of a person, it indicates an expertise in a certain matter that derives from possessing a great deal of experience and mental acuity. An adroit act is one that is skillfully or cunningly done, and speaks to the ability of the individual who executed it. In both cases, adroit often implies that the person or action exhibits an acute understanding of how to navigate people or the circumstances they create. For instance, referring to a businessperson as adroit instead of just skilled illustrates that her mastery comes from not only a general wealth of experience but also specifically from familiarity and ease of communication with people. However, both the committing of any deed and the person responsible for it, regardless of any connection or reliance on interpersonal skills, can be adroit.

Example: She was adroit in her ability to judge character, which was extremely valuable in her role as a project leader.

Example: His adroit negotiation tactics won his firm an even more lucrative contract than his bosses anticipated.

Origin

The word adroit comes from the Latin word for "right" or "justice," which was "directum." From there, it evolved into the French phrase "à droit," which literally means "to the right," but which more idiomatically translates to "according to right." This phrase was eventually contracted to "adroit," which was adopted by the English language in the mid-17th century.

Derivative Words

Adroitly: The adverb form of adroit describes the skillfulness with which an act is carried out.

Example: The veteran customer service representative adroitly pacified the irate customer.

Adroitness: This is a noun that expresses the quality of mastery belonging to a person or skill.

Example: Her adroitness in persuading prospective donors to commit their support to her nonprofit made her an invaluable fundraiser.

In Literature

From Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People:

Benjamin Franklin, tactless in his youth, became so diplomatic, so adroit at handling people, that he was made American Ambassador to France. The secret of his success? "I will speak ill of no man," he said, " … and speak all the good I know of everybody."

By describing Ben Franklin's attuned social skills as adroit, Carnegie suggests Franklin's manner with others embodied both of its key qualities: being well-developed and also being clever.

Mnemonic

If you are adroit with a skill, you will never be adrift when you need to use it.
The factories in Detroit are adroit at making cars.