as in masterfully
in a skillful or expert manner
the apple pie was a traditional but expertly made version of an old favorite
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Recent Examples of expertly
Her hair is often a massive tangle of black curls, her nails are expertly polished, her huge brown eyes peer out from spidery lashes, and her skin is cocoa-butter smooth.
—
Stephanie Mansfield, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2025
Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, and Emma Roberts are the focus of three separate but interwoven stories, with Perkins expertly keeping us off balance while still playing fair with the plot's time-hopping structure.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
One of those nods was for Linda Blair, who expertly played the possessed little girl.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
The sponge is expertly crafted, fluffy and delicate — and covered in a butter cream that doesn’t go too hard on the butter.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
My hair was softly curled, and my face was expertly sculpted with a breathable base that still allowed my skin to shine through.
—Brianna J. Heath, Essence, 27 Oct. 2025
Having started his career as a film critic and essayist on YouTube, Stuckmann makes the transition to director with a horror movie that expertly blends media and feels at times like a mockumentary ripped right from the video platform.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Our friend Andrew Hendrickson frosted a cake that expertly reproduced the cover of the Samoans’ Inside My Brain EP.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Captain Maya Le Tissier was at the heart of their steely backline, which midfielders Hinata Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti Olme expertly screened.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Stephanie Mansfield, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2025
Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, and Emma Roberts are the focus of three separate but interwoven stories, with Perkins expertly keeping us off balance while still playing fair with the plot's time-hopping structure.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
One of those nods was for Linda Blair, who expertly played the possessed little girl.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
The sponge is expertly crafted, fluffy and delicate — and covered in a butter cream that doesn’t go too hard on the butter.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
My hair was softly curled, and my face was expertly sculpted with a breathable base that still allowed my skin to shine through.
—Brianna J. Heath, Essence, 27 Oct. 2025
Having started his career as a film critic and essayist on YouTube, Stuckmann makes the transition to director with a horror movie that expertly blends media and feels at times like a mockumentary ripped right from the video platform.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
Our friend Andrew Hendrickson frosted a cake that expertly reproduced the cover of the Samoans’ Inside My Brain EP.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Captain Maya Le Tissier was at the heart of their steely backline, which midfielders Hinata Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti Olme expertly screened.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expertly
Adverb
-
Vercellino later founded The Lion Heart Experience, a touring company composed of his former students that masterfully fuses storytelling, original music, and painting to inspire self-worth in young audiences.—
Kris Ann Valdez,
Parents,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Miškinis and writer Eglė Vertelytė (who adapts Rimantas Kmita’s semi-autobiographical novel) masterfully dodge genre tropes, avoiding confining their characters to simplistic labels and keeping the focus of their arcs self-motivated.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
And when wielded skillfully, the very tools that mislead us can help us out of this conundrum.—
Nadav Ziv,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The six-episode limited series skillfully blends the past and the present.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
After retelling the life of Odysseus’ wife in the Songs of Penelope books, Claire North adopts a new perspective with a standalone space opera about a man reborn so many times over as to better resemble a monster.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Wisner also caught the ball well in the screen game and made several plays in pass protection.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Featuring the works of artist Michael Storrings, the puzzle artfully depicts a snowy winter scene in New York City, complete with the subway line, skyscrapers, bright yellow taxis, storefronts, and of course, pedestrians strolling the streets.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
30 Oct. 2025
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Gonzalez held Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy to zero catches, and artfully guided Jeudy into the sideline on a fourth-down throw late in the game that fell incomplete.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In his absence, veteran free-agent addition Jaylon Moore has played capably, allowing only eight quarterback pressures over 119 pass-blocking snaps during his three starts, per Pro Football Focus.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
28 Oct. 2025
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The Dons lost to Point Loma two weeks ago without him, but Josh Faraimo filled in capably in last week’s 41-0 win over Scripps Ranch.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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One of his former teachers was still there, coaxing students to line up neatly.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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But not everything can fit neatly in an eight-part series, and there’s a reason the case is still being dissected today.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Directed by Toyoo Ashida, this is an admirably to-the-point action-horror hybrid boasting unbelievable animation, while deftly keeping a trick or two up its sleeve.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
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The real reason is to wreak as much havoc as humanly possible, or at least that’s what we’re given to believe from the way the hostess swans about while deftly manipulating dozens of puppet strings simultaneously.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Expertly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expertly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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