nimble

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˈnɪmbəl/ UK /ˈnɪmbəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
quick and light in movement or thought; agile

Her nimble fingers untangled the knot in seconds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · quick and light in movement... agile quick deft spry lithe sprightly adroitnimble-footed

Opposites

clumsy awkward sluggish ponderous

Word family

Forms nimbleness

Derived forms nimblynimbleness

Etymology

From Middle English nimel ('quick to seize'), from Old English numol ('quick at grasping'), from niman ('to take, seize').

numol Old English niman Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition

# nimble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈnɪmbəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈnɪmbəl

## Meanings
1. quick and light in movement or thought; agile

## Examples
- Her nimble fingers untangled the knot in seconds.

## Synonyms
- agile
- quick
- deft
- spry
- lithe
- sprightly
- adroit
- nimble-footed

## Antonyms
- clumsy
- awkward
- sluggish
- ponderous

## Derived Forms
- nimbly
- nimbleness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: numol
- Root: niman

## Etymology
From Middle English nimel ('quick to seize'), from Old English numol ('quick at grasping'), from niman ('to take, seize').

## AI Etymology
Nimble comes from Middle English nimel ('quick to seize'), from Old English numol ('quick at grasping'), from niman ('to take, seize'). The etymological trail includes Old English numol and Old English niman. As an adjective, nimble means quick and light in movement or thought; agile. The same family is visible in derived forms such as nimbly and nimbleness.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition

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nimble

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