adept·ness
ə-ˈdep(t)-nəs 
a-
plural -es
: the quality or state of being adept
showed great adeptness at fencing
Examples of adept in a Sentence
Adjective
Madison, Jefferson's lifelong friend, collaborator, and political ally, was quizzical and skeptical. His mind was less capacious and less elevated than Jefferson's, but more … original, and instinctively contrary. Less learned than Jefferson, his verbal skills inferior, he was almost pedantically alert to inner complications, and so, though less adept a politician, he was more consistent.
—
Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew, 2003
Three small figurines carved of ivory from mammoth tusks have been found in a cave in southwestern Germany, providing stronger evidence that human ancestors were already adept at figurative art more than 30,000 years ago, an archaeologist is reporting today.
—John Noble Wilford, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2003
The Angels exploited center-fielder Bernie Williams's weak throwing arm in the division series against the Yankees and are adept at scampering from first to third on hits to the outfield.
—Jack Curry, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2002
Barnum was especially adept at pulling back one curtain after another, keeping the audience in a state of panting uncertainty, perpetually postponing the revelation of what was "really" going on.
—Jackson Lears, New Republic, 12 Nov. 2001
He's adept in several languages.
he's an adept pitcher, and the team is lucky to have him
Noun (1)
Once safely back in Paris, and having attained his majority, the poet squandered his inheritance with an adept's fervor …
—Nicholas Delbanco, Harper's, September 2004
They recruited computational chemists, software engineers, AI experts, and various other computer adepts, all of whom put their monster minds together to create an automated reasoning system that could inspect vast amounts of chemical data quickly and point the finger at potential new drug compounds.
—Ed Regis, Wired, June 2000
even by the standards of Washington, he's an adept at political intrigue and power politics
Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew, 2003
Three small figurines carved of ivory from mammoth tusks have been found in a cave in southwestern Germany, providing stronger evidence that human ancestors were already adept at figurative art more than 30,000 years ago, an archaeologist is reporting today.
—John Noble Wilford, New York Times, 18 Dec. 2003
The Angels exploited center-fielder Bernie Williams's weak throwing arm in the division series against the Yankees and are adept at scampering from first to third on hits to the outfield.
—Jack Curry, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2002
Barnum was especially adept at pulling back one curtain after another, keeping the audience in a state of panting uncertainty, perpetually postponing the revelation of what was "really" going on.
—Jackson Lears, New Republic, 12 Nov. 2001
He's adept in several languages.
he's an adept pitcher, and the team is lucky to have him
Noun (1)
Once safely back in Paris, and having attained his majority, the poet squandered his inheritance with an adept's fervor …
—Nicholas Delbanco, Harper's, September 2004
They recruited computational chemists, software engineers, AI experts, and various other computer adepts, all of whom put their monster minds together to create an automated reasoning system that could inspect vast amounts of chemical data quickly and point the finger at potential new drug compounds.
—Ed Regis, Wired, June 2000
even by the standards of Washington, he's an adept at political intrigue and power politics
Recent Examples on the Web
Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 June 2026
The models have shown themselves adept at finding security flaws in software, creating concerns that adversaries could use them to launch cyberattacks on government agencies, banks and critical infrastructure.
—Cat Zakrzewski The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 7 June 2026
Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for adept
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.
Adjective
Jelly was equally adept at the lighter moments.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 June 2026
The models have shown themselves adept at finding security flaws in software, creating concerns that adversaries could use them to launch cyberattacks on government agencies, banks and critical infrastructure.
—Cat Zakrzewski The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 7 June 2026
Noun
Tech pioneer adept at shifting gears Atom Power was co-founded in 2015 by Kouroussis and Ryan Kennedy as a UNC Charlotte incubator, a project that started at the college before spinning off its own company and moving to the Lake Norman area.
—Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for adept
Cite this Entry
“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adept. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
