| / English Dictionary |
APT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Being of striking appropriateness and pertinence
Example:
an apt reply
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
apropos (of an appropriate or pertinent nature)
Derivation:
aptness (appropriateness for the occasion)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(usually followed by 'to') naturally disposed toward
Example:
I am not minded to answer any questions
Synonyms:
apt; disposed; given; minded; tending
Classified under:
Similar:
inclined ((often followed by 'to') having a preference, disposition, or tendency)
Derivation:
aptness (a disposition to behave in a certain way)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Mentally quick and resourceful
Example:
you are a clever man...you reason well and your wit is bold
Synonyms:
apt; clever
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intelligent (having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree)
Sense 4
Meaning:
At risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
Example:
she is liable to forget
Synonyms:
apt; liable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
likely (has a good chance of being the case or of coming about)
Derivation:
aptness (a disposition to behave in a certain way)
Context examples:
“And I found him an over-apt pupil,” grumbled the bowman.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
They are but too apt to give up music.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Overall, participants with a weak nose were 46 percent more likely to die by year 10 and 30 percent more apt to pass away by year 13 than people with a good sense of smell, the study found.
(Declining Sense of Smell Linked to Risk of Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
I do not know that the relation of my disasters will be useful to you; yet, when I reflect that you are pursuing the same course, exposing yourself to the same dangers which have rendered me what I am, I imagine that you may deduce an apt moral from my tale, one that may direct you if you succeed in your undertaking and console you in case of failure.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
With a nod from Pluto at this full moon, you are apt to meet successful, interesting people at the event, and with Neptune in sparkling alignment, you might feel transported to an enchanting, other-worldly setting that you’ll long remember.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
That Lady Russell, of steady age and character, and extremely well provided for, should have no thought of a second marriage, needs no apology to the public, which is rather apt to be unreasonably discontented when a woman does marry again, than when she does not; but Sir Walter's continuing in singleness requires explanation.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
I'm apt to forget my resolutions, but if I had something always about me to remind me, I guess I should do better.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I am so worried in my mind that I am apt to be irritable.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
I had a very apt scholar.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Emma could not think it too soon; for with all his good and agreeable qualities, there was a sort of parade in his speeches which was very apt to incline her to laugh.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
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