Synonyms of adept

adept 1 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈdept 

as in skilled

having or showing exceptional knowledge, experience, or skill in a field of endeavor

he's an adept pitcher, and the team is lucky to have him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skilled
• proficient
• skillful
• experienced
• expert
• practiced
• good
• talented
• educated
• accomplished
• masterful
• great
• virtuoso
• gifted
• veteran
• practised
• master
• versed
• capable
• professed
• masterly
• consummate
• complete
• ace
• crackerjack
• crack
• competent
• trained
• adroit
• employable
• efficient
• dexterous
• dextrous
• effective
• deft
• qualified
• clever
• compleat
• handy
• able
• polished
• slick
• old
• knowledgeable
• taught
• effectual
• refined
• workmanlike
• schooled
• sure-handed
• fitted
• all-round
• well-rounded
• fit
• multiskilled
• all-around
• multitalented
• long-term
• habile
• tutored

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inexperienced
• incapable
• unskilled
• unable
• incompetent
• amateur
• inexpert
• inept
• weak
• amateurish
• unprofessional
• unqualified
• unfit
• unseasoned
• unskillful
• unfitted
• crude
• ineffective
• artless
• inefficient
• ineffectual
• rude
• would-be
• ignorant
• untrained
• inexperienced
• new
• untalented
• untutored
• jackleg
• beginning
• unschooled
• untaught
• green
• primitive
• raw
• untested
• untried
• unseasoned
• ungifted
• clumsy
• talentless
• unpolished
• rough
• awkward
• heavy-handed
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed

adept

2 of 2

noun

ˈa-ˌdept 

as in expert

a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field

even by the standards of Washington, he's an adept at political intrigue and power politics

Synonyms & Similar Words

• expert
• master
• scholar
• virtuoso
• wizard
• proficient
• guru
• artist
• authority
• specialist
• maestro
• ace
• professional
• whiz
• consultant
• connoisseur
• sharp
• hotshot
• geek
• crackerjack
• fiend
• past master
• maven
• hand
• meister
• enthusiast
• shark
• mavin
• dab hand
• cognoscente
• craftsman
• dab
• pro
• crackajack
• fan
• devotee
• addict
• buff
• aficionado
• journeyman
• hired gun
• mistress
• afficionado
• Renaissance man
• jack-of-all-trades
• all-rounder

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• amateur
• novice
• beginner
• apprentice
• neophyte
• inexpert
• nonexpert
• layman
• dilettante
• dabbler
• nonprofessional

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

Recent Examples of adept

Adjective

Kibbe is adept in the art of soft power, rallying the likes of H&M Group, ThredUp, Reformation, USAgain and Vestiaire Collective to campaign for textile resale, reuse and recycling in the halls of Capitol Hill. —Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2025

This toner is adept at restoring moisture post-cleanse, according to our tester, whose skin skews dry. —Esme Benjamin, PEOPLE, 4 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