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adept

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word adept distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of adept are expert, proficient, skilled, and skillful. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When is it sensible to use expert instead of adept?

While in some cases nearly identical to adept, expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

When is proficient a more appropriate choice than adept?

In some situations, the words proficient and adept are roughly equivalent. However, proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

In what contexts can skilled take the place of adept?

The words skilled and adept can be used in similar contexts, but skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

When might skillful be a better fit than adept?

The meanings of skillful and adept largely overlap; however, skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adept
Adjective
The film belongs lock, stock and barrel to Del Toro, playing this Onassis-style billionaire who proves again to be so adept to the rhythms of Anderson’s dialogue and delivers flawlessly here. Pete Hammond, Deadline, 18 May 2025 But many recipes can be complicated for younger children or others who might not be so adept with cooking. Metro Creative Services, Boston Herald, 7 May 2025
Noun
Around him, dense as a swarm of tiny insects, float tiny images of fellow adepts engaged in all manner of outré shenanigans. Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024 Naomi Goggin Switch to island time—and expect transportation snafus Even with two planners, and a bride adept at project management, there was one logistical hurdle that was tough to cross: local transportation. Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for adept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adept
Adjective
  • Deploying this type of technology at scale could not only help identify at-risk patients for proactive monitoring but also address the global need for medical professionals, with the U.S. alone requiring 122,000 skilled physicians by 2032.
    Max Votek, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
  • The presence of someone skilled, experienced and committed to public service could strengthen the agency, at a time when the federal work force faces unprecedented strain.
    Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Noun
  • Only 20 experts out of the roughly 525 who did the work at USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance and its Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Relief are being hired by PRM, the source said.
    Jonathan Landay, USA Today, 23 May 2025
  • Lynn Richardson-Godfrey, CXO at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is an expert in transformative marketing for nonprofits & iconic brands.
    Lynn Godfrey, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Preparatory Academy, an alternative high school in the Bronx for young adults who have lived in the United States for less than one year and are not yet proficient in English.
    Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025
  • In 2024, eighth graders dropped to 47% proficient or advanced in science down from 77% in 2023.
    Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025
Noun
  • Another master’s artistry is on display and open to tours at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House, located about two miles east of the museum on the other side of the park.
    David Allan, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
  • Skills build on themselves, so children who don’t master kindergarten phonics or counting could remain behind in future grades.
    Claire Cain Miller, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • These additional components underscore the importance of music, movement, libations, skillful presentation, and audience participation to masquerade more broadly.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025
  • Who lives and who dies depends on a slew of variable factors: Where they are tried, how skillful their attorneys are, the whims of prosecutors, quirks in the law, the dispositions of judges and jurors, and what victims want.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University—and this nation—immeasurably.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 May 2025
  • And the collaboration the Archive Center most prioritizes is with Native communities themselves, providing reference services to community members, scholars and the general public.
    Nathan Pugh, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • Again, this isn't a conventional model rocket so experienced rocketeers might scoff at it.
    Ian Stokes, Space.com, 23 May 2025
  • Funds like the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF attracted massive inflows, yet many investors who entered late experienced disappointing returns once valuations normalized.
    Gianluca Sidoti, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Noun
  • Imagine Jimi Hendrix also being a tuba virtuoso, or Andy Warhol also excelling on an Etch-A-Sketch.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 May 2025
  • Dissatisfied with the quality of the day’s commercial recordings, Paul, who’d worked with pop stars including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, and was a guitar virtuoso and bandleader, endeavored to push the practice forward — to make recording a kind of erudite art form.
    Erin Osmon, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adept. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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