virtuosity

noun

vir·​tu·​os·​i·​ty ˌvər-chü-ˈä-sə-tē 

plural virtuosities

1

: great technical skill (as in the practice of a fine art)

2

: a taste for or interest in virtu

Did you know?

Virtuosity is used particularly to describe musicians, but also often for writers, actors, dancers, and athletes. A virtuoso is a highly skilled performer, and a virtuoso performance is one that astonishes the audience by its feats. In ancient Greece the cities would hold male competitions in acrobatics, conjuring, public reciting, blowing the trumpet, and acting out scenes from Homer's epics, the winners of which would have been praised as virtuous, or "full of manly virtues".

Examples of virtuosity in a Sentence

Her virtuosity on the piano is amazing.

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s some virtuosity in there somewhere, too. —Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 27 Aug. 2025

My colleagues in the Orchestra perform brilliantly, with tremendous passion and virtuosity. —Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 26 Aug. 2025

To undermine that comparative advantage by stripping away IP rights is to vandalize our virtuosity. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025

McCullers has a real virtuosity for depicting alienation and giving people secret yearnings and personal histories. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 16 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for virtuosity

• animosity
• curiosity
• generosity
• grandiosity
• nebulosity
• reciprocity
• tortuosity
• tuberosity
• atrocity
• ferocity
• monstrosity
• pomposity

Kids Definition

virtuosity

noun

vir·​tu·​os·​i·​ty ˌvər-chə-ˈwäs-ət-ē 

plural virtuosities

: great performing ability in the fine arts