GURU Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

guru

noun

ˈgu̇r-(ˌ)ü

Definition of guru

as in expert

a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field one of those weather gurus that the television networks always drag out whenever there's a big blizzard brewing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in practitioner

one who brings an art or science to full realization the leading guru of electronic music in the 1960s

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 guru After countless acid trips, Alpert visited an Indian guru who practiced Bhakti yoga. — Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026 The player’s dining companions included his wife, Mariah Riddlesprigger, as well as hospitality guru David Grutman, who owns the Japanese steakhouse with Bad Bunny. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026 She’s lured to her choice by Ricki, played by Lily James, a charismatic empowerment guru who sees Rita as a mark, and her hauntedness as a source of vulnerability. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026 Max then traveled to Paris to consult on a film for filmmaker Conrad Rooks and met Swami Satchidananda, an Indian guru and yoga teacher. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for guru

Recent Examples of Synonyms for guru

Noun

In 2008, in Texas, geologist and Petrohawk Energy cofounder Dick Stoneburner—a great name for a shale rock expert—helped pioneer drilling and fracking and led the discovery of the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom in South Texas.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
The Challenges Creating a compelling reason to visit a convenience store is a big challenge for small-format outlets in India, experts said.

— Priyanka Salve,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of expert

Noun

But for the practitioners who see mathematical truth as an end rather than a means, the consequences of this race are becoming harder and harder to predict.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Oct. 2026
One practical step for Miami consumers is to verify a practitioner’s active Florida license through the Florida Department of Health’s public lookup before booking.

— Malana VanTyler, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of practitioner

Noun

Zhang plays optimistic puzzle master Florence, and Sula is Conrad’s estranged daughter and criminal psychologist Astrid.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Ted was accepted into a master’s program in data science at Columbia, but her own acceptance was at UC Berkeley.

— Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of master

Noun

Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
This includes — but is not limited to — professors, scholars, research assistants, students, teachers, au pairs and camp counselors.

— Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of scholar

Noun

Still, the question of what Ebel was doing with his adepts swept through Prussia, dominating the newspapers that had only recently begun to emerge from their eighteenth-century chronicling of obligations to a more modern publicizing role.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Lest things get predictable, Tasjan’s adept at letting the music battle with the lyrics in a way that hints at how any experience is far more complex than we are led to believe.

— Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026

Definition of adept

Noun

Produced by Hollywood stunt champs 87North, the hard-hitting wizards that have been redefining fight choreography since John Wick, Violent Night 2, like its predecessor, promises heaps of gory and satisfyingly kinetic fight scenes.

— Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
The team was blessed in absentia by Pope Leo XIV and routinely wanded by the wizard.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of wizard

Noun

What happens when one of the biggest crossover hits of the 21st century gets handed to a couple of banjo virtuosos?

— SPIN Staff, SPIN, 8 Oct. 2026
His only drum teacher, a Dublin jazz player, briefly tried to show a young Mullen how to play like the virtuoso Steve Gadd.

— Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of virtuoso

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“Guru.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guru. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of guru

noun

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