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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 Also featured is the trumpeter Jon Faddis, a precocious Dizzy Gillespie disciple and emulator who played bebop with a sincere passion and a neoclassical virtuosity—and who was only twenty at the time. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 15 June 2021 Libraries have often been civic monuments, showcases of design virtuosity, and temples that appear to be made out of volumes. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 4 June 2021 Forsythe’s excited complexity pushes Peck’s sunny virtuosity into astonishments. — New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021 But his virtuosity as a vocalist puts the album’s other shortcomings in sharper relief. — Mark Richardson, WSJ, 3 May 2021 New and the orchestra did an impressive job of matching Hadelich’s gentle flights of fantasy, but also — apart from a couple of spots when winds didn’t quite keep up — with his dazzling virtuosity in the finale. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2021 Rose said Lindor has the talent to match Hernandez (more power, but perhaps less virtuosity in the field) and is eager to see whether Lindor, who has an active role in the players’ union, assumes a leadership role with the Mets, too. — New York Times, 31 Mar. 2021 William Wolfram brought virtuosity to the solo piano part, but his touch was often too heavy, especially in rapid runs, and phrases called for more direction. — Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2021 Patrick Dupond, a star dancer and former director of the Paris Opera Ballet who won worldwide renown in the 1980s and ’90s for his virtuosity, glittering technique and flamboyant personality, died on March 5 in Soissons, France. — Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'virtuosity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.