Meaning

Using one's left hand in preference to, or more skillfully than, one's right..

Definitions by Sense

1. Using one's left hand in preference to, or more skillfully than, one's right.
2. Intended to be worn on, or used by, the left hand.
3. Turning or spiraling from right to left; anticlockwise.
4. Awkward or maladroit.
5. Insincere or malicious.
6. (occult, of magic) Performed with the intention of doing harm or in transgression against convention or taboo; following the left-hand path
7. Of a coordinate system: not following the right-hand rule.
8. Left-handed people, taken as a whole.

Example Sentences

The commendations of this people are not always […]left-handed and detractive.

On the other hand, nearly all magic tends in time to the left-handed path; as being a devious means of attaining desires unobtainable by ordinary methods.

Evidence contradicting this principle came from a study of epileptic patients by Penfield and Roberts (1959) who found that dysphasia following surgery on the right hemisphere was not significantly more frequent in the left-handed than in the right-handed.

Word Forms

• lefthanded

Synonyms for left-handed

Antonyms for left-handed

Related Words

When Should You Use Left-handed?

Use left-handed when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions