competently

adverb

Definition of competentlynext
as in masterfully
in a skillful or expert manner performed the piece at least competently, if not superbly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 competently But their ability to competently run a city, connecting directly with local needs, often sets them up for national politics. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026 Nor does Moshe appear a natural action director, as the setpieces here are just competently staged rather than harrowing, and overall tension goes slack on occasion. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 While there are lots of things most people can competently do on their own, filing for bankruptcy is not one of them. — Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026 Final Thoughts The Beatbot Sora 70 can competently clean your pool's floor, walls, platforms, and surface. — John Mihaly, PC Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 Unless operated competently such missiles may be worse than useless. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 The real issue is whether AI is being implemented transparently, responsibly and accountably — and whether regulators themselves understand these systems well enough to govern them competently. — Sreedhar Potarazu, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2026 Mark Beare, head of consumer business at cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes, also notes that employees would need to have confidence that an AI agent responding to coworkers and clients on their behalf can be counted on to act competently and professionally. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 8 June 2026 Why can’t San Francisco’s officials competently replace its trash cans? — Steven Greenhut, Washington Post, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for competently
  1. masterfully
  2. skillfully
  3. well
  4. capably
  5. proficiently
  6. neatly
  7. ably
  8. expertly
Adverb
  • Rosalía had no need for a flat shoe, and masterfully walked through the subway grates with her statement high heels while showing off her toned legs with a minimalist all-black minidress.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Videos shared by Nevada’s parents on Instagram show the precocious dynamo masterfully weaving between taller players and delivering powerful kicks driving the ball into the goal.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of masterfully
Adverb
  • Tia, on her end, handled the ambush skillfully, parrying jabs without raising her voice to prevent Wendy from having any opening to feign victimization.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Yes, Fielder and Oppenheim are deliberately (and skillfully) thwarting those expectations, but to what end?
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of skillfully
Adverb
  • The legal defense army The Left developed a legal advocacy network to support street agitators well before 2020.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Gauthier extended his goals streak to six games and his points streak to a career best-tying eight games with his fourth multi-goal performance during this electric sequence, including three of his four career hat tricks.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of well
Adverb
  • Filling the shoes of the legendary Mel Blanc at Looney Tunes was no small task, but the three-time Emmy winner did so capably for years.
    — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The rest of the filmmaking, too, is content to coast at a lower difficulty setting, from the proficient but anonymously taupe lensing by master DP Robert Elswit to an untested ensemble of ever-watchable actors playing capably to type.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of capably
Adverb
  • Buzzard is in exceptional shape for his age, with teammate Max Thomas noticing his ability to keep up proficiently during team sprints.
    — Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The initiative comes as only about 35% of APS third graders are reading proficiently.
    — Jamal Goss, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of proficiently
Adverb
  • The robot can unload up to 1,000 cases per hour, although actual throughput depends on factors such as box weight and how neatly or irregularly packages are stacked inside trailers.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • If pantry snacks are spilling out onto the floor, add these bins on a shelf to keep individual snacks visible and neatly stowed.
    — Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of neatly
Adverb
  • The other two, Molly Dogwood and Taylor Mosco, were circulating ably with the beautiful and naturally extroverted people.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Despite an occasional groan of narrative machinery, Vavrek ably repaces Saunders’s story line and carries its texty voices into song.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of ably
Adverb
  • Though the signature dumplings, chor muang—chicken and peanut filling encased in delicate butterfly pea flower dough—are the star, don’t overlook the noodle dishes, which are slurpable, expertly sauced, and so soft as to be almost buttery.
    — Ali Domrongchai, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Nov. 2026
  • How to Style It This fall look from Holmes expertly shows how to style a silk midi skirt for daytime.
    — Melony Forcier, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of expertly

Browse Nearby Words

competent
competently
competes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Competently.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competently. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All