adept 1 of 2

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
Nique Clifford, senior guard, Colorado State (CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Bleacher Report): The 6-5 guard is adept at several aspects, although perhaps not quite a master of any. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2025 June 14, 2018 Abbott is especially adept at rendering the hot, messy inner lives of young people and at making a book’s backstory as suspenseful as the narrative engine that drives the plot. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Noun
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 Around him, dense as a swarm of tiny insects, float tiny images of fellow adepts engaged in all manner of outré shenanigans. Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for adept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adept
Adjective
  • Sallis enters the professional ranks as a skilled guard with a smooth mid-range game, defensive versatility, room to grow as a shooter and playmaker and potential to develop in an NBA organization.
    Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 27 June 2025
  • Medicaid also funds the majority of long-term care for seniors in skilled nursing facilities.
    Pia Valvassori, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • In his expert draft guide, among them noted by the Athletic’s Sam Vecenie were: a lack of athleticism; turnovers, loose handle, unsure footwork, lack of isolation creativity, defensive movement and subpar help-side defense.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 June 2025
  • An in-house team of economic experts at Anthropic plan to award 20 to 50 global research grants of up to $50,000 each, and provide free access to Anthropic’s AI products to assist in the analysis.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • About 30% of our kids are proficient in math and reading.
    Siena Duncan, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
  • Content creation needs prompts, quality control guardrails and a proficient human editor.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • Learn how to meal prep like a pro, create quick and nutritious grab-and-go options, and master time-saving hacks that keep you energized without the morning chaos.
    Essence, Essence, 6 July 2025
  • Upper Buffalo Land Becomes Wilderness Area Tom Foti is a master botanist and former ecologist/research chief at the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 6 July 2025
Adjective
  • Finnegans Wake, in his skillful hands, is a tapestry of all the works Joyce ever wrote, the final and protracted project of a writer who could never stop thinking about Ireland.
    Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025
  • Their smart, aggressive defense disorients even the smoothest spacing and the most skillful shooters.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 18 May 2025
Noun
  • The author is not the first scholar to tackle the history of America—as in the American continent, not just the United States (which keeps trying to hoard the name for itself).
    Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
  • The festival also offers performances by local dance or music groups, lectures by Shakespeare scholars and food offerings from Tom’s Travelin’ Coffee Truck or OneSong Biscotti.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • The society says that experienced observers may see about one fireball bright enough to be spotted in the day for every 200 hours of meteor observing.
    James Powel, USA Today, 27 June 2025
  • When unusual circumstances arise, experienced loan officers should make the calls.
    Ashish Garg, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • He’s been a glamorous Visual Kei rock star, a classical composer, a virtuoso behind the drum kit, a producer and label owner and entrepreneur, and now, more than ever, an impresario.
    Steve Appleford, Variety, 17 June 2025
  • Little Feat, the archetypal ’70s band originally formed by Lowell George — a guitar virtuoso fired from the Mothers of Invention by Frank Zappa — has survived years of breakups, drug problems and even George’s untimely death in 1979.
    Dave Brooks, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adept. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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