daft
adjective
ˈdaft 
also ˈdäft
1
chiefly British, informal : silly, foolish
Don't do anything daft.
2
chiefly British, informal : mad, insane
… he looks at me as if I were daft.
Johanna McGeary
Johanna McGeary3
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]
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Your idea seems a bit daft to me. She looked at us as if we'd gone daft.
Recent Examples on the Web But unlike the first film, Sonic 2 has a daft sense of fun that feels totally self-assured, a proper blend of kid-friendly gags and deeply dorky world building, complete with post-credit sequences and ever-expanding lore. David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2022 Someday soon — maybe in a year, maybe at the next Olympic trials — Americans will look back at last week's events and ask how any organization could have been so daft, so anachronistic, so wrongheaded. Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 4 July 2021 Does this praise even track for a generation raised on politicians who make hay exploiting daft cultural skirmishes? Virginia Heffernan Los Angeles Times, Star Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021 The internet has accelerated the spread of absurd theories, but these are a continuation of the sort of daft rumors that have always circulated in human communities. New York Times, 5 May 2020 Nevertheless, emotion resonates through this delightful memoir, which offers a candid, humorous look inside the royal family and the daft world of the British aristocracy. Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 24 Mar. 2020 Which, of course, sounds daft since voters headed to the polls last Tuesday or headed to their mailboxes at some point to send in their absentee ballots. Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2020 Yet just as Shoplifters conceded that its low-class antiheroes were actually horrible people, Parasite is fairly kind to the upper crust, portraying the rich as sweet if slightly daft people. Kyle Smith, National Review, 3 Oct. 2019 See More
David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2022 Someday soon — maybe in a year, maybe at the next Olympic trials — Americans will look back at last week's events and ask how any organization could have been so daft, so anachronistic, so wrongheaded. Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 4 July 2021 Does this praise even track for a generation raised on politicians who make hay exploiting daft cultural skirmishes? Virginia Heffernan Los Angeles Times, Star Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021 The internet has accelerated the spread of absurd theories, but these are a continuation of the sort of daft rumors that have always circulated in human communities. New York Times, 5 May 2020 Nevertheless, emotion resonates through this delightful memoir, which offers a candid, humorous look inside the royal family and the daft world of the British aristocracy. Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 24 Mar. 2020 Which, of course, sounds daft since voters headed to the polls last Tuesday or headed to their mailboxes at some point to send in their absentee ballots. Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2020 Yet just as Shoplifters conceded that its low-class antiheroes were actually horrible people, Parasite is fairly kind to the upper crust, portraying the rich as sweet if slightly daft people. Kyle Smith, National Review, 3 Oct. 2019 See More 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 *dhabh- or *dhobh-, 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
Kids Definition
daft
adjective
ˈdaft
dafter; daftest
: foolish, crazy
daft
adjective
1
as in mad
having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind the king was clearly daft, talking to trees and rocks as if they were people Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- mad
- lunatic
- psychotic
- insane
- nuts
- crazy
- gaga
- maniacal
- maniac
- paranoid
- bonkers
- mental
- loony
- crazed
- strange
- disturbed
- barmy
- psycho
- deranged
- foolish
- demented
- wacky
- odd
- whacky
- irrational
- unhinged
- daffy
- cuckoo
- kooky
- screwy
- wacko
- nutty
- eccentric
- scatty
- looney
- batty
- cracked
- paranoidal
- unbalanced
- unreasonable
- haywire
- crackpot
- ballistic
- bedlam
- certifiable
- whacko
- around the bend
- brainsick
- moonstruck
- loco
- unsound
- crackers
- obsessed
- depressed
- kookie
- crackbrained
- wud
- bats
- bughouse
- fruity
- fey
- loony tunes
- meshuga
- out to lunch
- distraught
- frantic
- cranky
- loopy
- dotty
- hysterical
- distracted
- delusional
- off
- meshugah
- looney tunes
- meshugge
- meshuggah
- balmy
- oddball
- out of one's mind
- neurotic
- delusionary
- witless
- off one's rocker
- delirious
- off one's gourd
- paranoiac
- queer
- schizophrenic
- non compos mentis
- touched
- schizoid
- out of one's head
- off one's head
- sociopathic
- hysteric
- tetched
- paranoic
- aberrant
- disordered
- nuclear
- senseless
- ape
- bananas
- berserk
- pixilated
- raving
- potty
- fixated
- teched
- amok
- pixillated
- frenzied
- obsessive-compulsive
- monomaniac
- monomaniacal
- wigged-out
- amuck
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reasonable
- sane
- sound
- sensible
- clear
- balanced
- rational
- wise
- compos mentis
- normal
- uncrazy
- lucid
- judicious
- healthy
- well-adjusted
- unneurotic
2
as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment a daft plan, doomed to wretched failure and merciless ridicule Synonyms & Similar Words
- silly
- stupid
- foolish
- absurd
- mad
- crazy
- idiotic
- insane
- lunatic
- ridiculous
- dumb
- fool
- irrational
- simple
- fatuous
- loony
- nonsensical
- zany
- dippy
- unwise
- asinine
- wacky
- preposterous
- witless
- unreasonable
- kooky
- dotty
- daffy
- nutty
- inept
- idiotical
- simpleminded
- looney
- brainless
- weak
- tomfool
- whacky
- screwball
- harebrained
- senseless
- moronic
- cuckoo
- slow
- crackpot
- sappy
- jerky
- dopey
- half-baked
- ludicrous
- cockeyed
- half-witted
- illogical
- thoughtless
- clueless
- unreasoning
- lunkheaded
- obtuse
- imbecile
- bubbleheaded
- doltish
- kookie
- gormless
- vacuous
- balmy
- dunderheaded
- weak-minded
- farcical
- lamebrain
- unintelligent
- laughable
- dull
- thickheaded
- unreasoned
- featherheaded
- pinheaded
- oafish
- out to lunch
- mindless
- dorky
- feebleminded
- fallacious
- invalid
- dim
- airheaded
- imbecilic
- dense
- softheaded
- opaque
- dim-witted
- surd
- soft
- unsound
- dopy
- lamebrained
- thick
- clownish
- knuckleheaded
- chuckleheaded
- brain-dead
- empty-headed
- nonrational
- notional
- slow-witted
- buffoonish
- birdbrained
- unconsidered
- boobish
- chowderheaded
- ill-advised
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sensible
- wise
- sound
- clever
- prudent
- sane
- sagacious
- reasonable
- smart
- intelligent
- judicious
- bright
- logical
- sage
- valid
- rational
- sapient
- brainy
- well-advised