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Prowess is a word with a lot to be proud of. Not only has it performed gallantly for the English language since the 13th century, but it has stayed relatively stalwart in hewing to its original meaning, which is quite a flex. When prowess first joined the ranks of the lexicon, it could be used to refer to bravery, skill, and valor—especially those virtues as encountered in military contexts—or to individual acts of derring-do. The latter was usually used in the plural, as when people waxed rhapsodic about the “prowesses” of knights or some such. Today’s “extraordinary ability” meaning, which developed in the 17th century, tends to stick to the singular form, as when it’s used to describe those with intellectual prowess, or to someone known for their prowess as a fundraiser.
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Examples of prowess in a Sentence
Rachel Wenzlaff, ABC News, 30 May 2024
Phil Knight’s athletic prowess simply did not clear the bar.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 29 May 2024
Athletic prowess should be subservient to communication skills.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 15 May 2024
First, the Olympics are a quadrennial event, which only temporarily gives some individual athletes a large platform to compete and show their prowess, despite needing to train and sacrifice in between those years.
—Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for prowess 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prowess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Prowess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prowess. Accessed 19 Jun. 2024.
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prowess
noun
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