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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
The political right has been adept at transforming class anger into opposition to elites defined not by wealth, but by cultural capital — professors, journalists and coastal technocrats. Chris Reed, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025 And now: Hardy has evolved since then into a rock star adept at making country music that thumbs its nose at mainstream expectations. Laura L. Davis, The Tennessean, 2 July 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
  • Many of these apprentices were not skilled tradesmen.
    Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 22 July 2025
  • The same is true of pickleball, where a skilled player with the right paddle can cause problems for an opponent.
    Martin Cizmar, Wired News, 20 July 2025
Noun
  • As the deadline approaches for Congress to renew the U.S. Farm Bill, agricultural experts and farmers are calling on legislators to prioritize protecting topsoil in the Midwest and throughout the country, especially as the federal government is withdrawing from conservation initiatives.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 21 July 2025
  • Though Haack's solo show may be canceled, the design expert has been working on another special project — her very own champagne line called Clé Cachée.
    Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • Statewide, 28 schools got A grades despite at least half of their students not being proficient in language arts, while 56 schools got the top grade even though half or more of their students scored poorly in math.
    Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
  • Some analysts said a new category of jobs could require humans to evaluate the quality and authenticity of AI output, while others said AI may become proficient enough to negate many of those roles.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 12 July 2025
Noun
  • Moore connected with Fiorito, then an Arizona State University master of fine arts student, in 2004.
    Laura Gersony, AZCentral.com, 15 July 2025
  • Prior to running The Pitt's emergency department like a pro, the master was just a med student on ER.
    Shania Russell, EW.com, 15 July 2025
Adjective
  • But despite those skillful trappings, the story soon feels ponderous.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 July 2025
  • And there was also skillful attention to the right marketing and distribution details.
    Andrew Tobias, Vulture, 7 July 2025
Noun
  • Robert Osborn, an early thinker on lawn tennis, was also a religious scholar.
    Sam Knight, New Yorker, 12 July 2025
  • In addition to being a Sachs scholar, she was named a Gates Scholarship winner — a prestigious award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
    Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 12 July 2025
Adjective
  • That type of resiliency is an admirable trait that McDaniel needs to find a way to carry over to the 2025 Dolphins, which are younger, less experienced, and has a leadership void to fill.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 July 2025
  • Part of his reasoning for his decision to leave out such experienced internationals from his Euros squad was to offer more players major tournament experience.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • Perhaps the most systematic attempt to bring order to this chaos comes from Google DeepMind, which in July 2024 proposed a framework with five levels of AGI performance: emerging, competent, expert, virtuoso, and superhuman.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2025
  • Even with Caitlin Clark once again sidelined, the Fever have been able to count on the virtuoso scoring talent of Kelsey Mitchell and the veteran expertise of Natasha Howard to help stabilize them.
    Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adept. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.

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