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NIMBLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Moving quickly and lightly
Example:
the old dog was so spry it was halfway up the stairs before we could stop it
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
active (characterized by energetic activity)
Derivation:
nimbleness (the gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Mentally quick
Example:
nimble wits
Synonyms:
agile; nimble
Classified under:
Similar:
intelligent (having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree)
Derivation:
nimbleness (intelligence as revealed by quickness and alertness of mind)
Context examples:
These creatures were of the size of a large mastiff, but infinitely more nimble and fierce; so that if I had taken off my belt before I went to sleep, I must have infallibly been torn to pieces and devoured.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
The echoing chamber of his soul was a narrow room, a conning tower, whence were directed his arm and shoulder muscles, his ten nimble fingers, and the swift-moving iron along its steaming path in broad, sweeping strokes, just so many strokes and no more, just so far with each stroke and not a fraction of an inch farther, rushing along interminable sleeves, sides, backs, and tails, and tossing the finished shirts, without rumpling, upon the receiving frame.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
They observed by my teeth, which they viewed with great exactness, that I was a carnivorous animal; yet most quadrupeds being an overmatch for me, and field mice, with some others, too nimble, they could not imagine how I should be able to support myself, unless I fed upon snails and other insects, which they offered, by many learned arguments, to evince that I could not possibly do.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
