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adept

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word adept distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of adept are expert, proficient, skilled, and skillful. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When is it sensible to use expert instead of adept?

While in some cases nearly identical to adept, expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

When is proficient a more appropriate choice than adept?

In some situations, the words proficient and adept are roughly equivalent. However, proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

In what contexts can skilled take the place of adept?

The words skilled and adept can be used in similar contexts, but skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

When might skillful be a better fit than adept?

The meanings of skillful and adept largely overlap; however, skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of adept
Adjective
Their players helped separate coach Liam Coen from a postgame confrontation with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who on Thursday noted how adept the Jaguars are at legally stealing opponents’ signals. Cam Inman, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025 Shildt is as proactive (and arguably as adept) as any manager in the game at employing his relievers to navigate victories. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
The younger Aes Sedai adept is busy learning the ways of walking in Tel’aran’rhiod, the dreamworld overlaid atop the real one and parallel to the regular, non-magical dreams most people experience. Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025 Perhaps Sheridan’s greatest magic trick occurs on Landman, where the adept acting of Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm make the case that Thornton’s oil-field fixer and Hamm’s billionaire are the true American martyrs. Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for adept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adept
Adjective
  • Can Skjei, who’s skilled but had a nightmare first season in Nashville, bounce back?
    Harman Dayal, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • But in addition to his reputation as a womanizer, Casanova was also a con man, a skilled liar who came from a family of actors and who over the course of his life manipulated and tricked countless people to maintain wealth and status.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Some states have instituted requirements for websites with adult or pornographic content to verify visitors' age before granting access, although tech experts have pointed out VPNs can be used to get around those guardrails.
    Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The Asheville Citizen Times asked a public policy expert about the shutdown.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Both are already reasonably proficient in this area.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 3 Oct. 2025
  • So, the pilots need to be proficient at air-to-air refueling, a difficult task with a plane the size of a commercial jetliner like the E-3.
    Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Hearing about a shoe designer getting more attention than a professional athlete, Boyle remembered his own company’s involvement with a master of the craft.
    Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2025
  • This Levoit is down 30%, and a master of hair and fur removal.
    Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Ragnar is one of the very best Nordic crime writers, as skillful in thrillers like this series as in murder mystery stories.
    Anders de la Motte, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Setting boundaries requires a balance of self-awareness and skillful communication.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In recent months, as despotism intensified an increasing number of writers, scholars, and thinkers were declared foreign agents, and their books were taken off the shelves.
    Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Dozens of press freedom groups and more than 100 leading writers, journalists and scholars called for Guevara’s release from ICE detention.
    Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Space near the stadium is at a premium, and experienced tail-Gators often get up at the crack of dawn to stake out their territory.
    Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The Billboard Daily Crossword puzzle is powered by PuzzleMe™, created by an experienced team of crossword puzzle-making pros with oversight from the trivia hounds on Billboard’s staff.
    Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Your little virtuoso can also activate the pixel piano player mode that builds and displays cool versions of their favorite animals.
    Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Earlier, John Mayer opened with an easygoing, hour-long set interspersed with his moments of virtuoso guitar heat.
    Brian McCollum, Freep.com, 27 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adept. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

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