habile

adjective

Definition of habilenext
as in capable

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for habile
  1. capable
  2. adept
  3. skilled
  4. able
  5. skillful
  6. proficient
  7. competent
  8. masterly
Adjective
  • Skepta’s still more than capable of keeping up with the kids.
    — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Universities need institutions capable of sustaining serious debate after a visiting speaker leaves campus.
    — Ilya Shapiro, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of capable
Adjective
  • Miami, which isn’ t adept at game-winning situations, isn’t yet ready to win this type of game.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
  • As riot police have adapted their tactics and weapons, demonstrators have become adept at anticipating police maneuvers and exploiting gaps in security.
    — Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of adept
Adjective
  • Trump’s notoriety for corruption may finally be eclipsing his populist appeal, and even rhetoricians as skilled as Jennings have difficulty making a case for him.
    — Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Provincial officials are counting on the project to deliver billions of dollars in investment, highly skilled jobs and a market for surplus wind power.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of skilled
Adjective
  • Neither was able to rally the support necessary to secure the position, which eventually went to Mike Johnson, who is stepping aside from the leadership in the new Congress.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Thanks to the leadership of Robinson, Edmonds and Harding, TCU was able to avoid a similar setback.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of able
Adjective
  • But be that guy that can be skillful, a bruiser, fast and tough.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2026
  • As Musashi scrambles through a school of Samurai, the game seamlessly bounces between skillful swordplay, rowdy improvisation, and Looney Tunes-style levity.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of skillful
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, the percentage of English language learners who were proficient in science, also as measured by the ACT, went up by more than 4 percentage points.
    — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Organizations need periods when employees can become proficient with new systems, develop confidence in unfamiliar procedures and actually experience the benefits of changes already introduced.
    — Jason Richmond, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of proficient
Adjective
  • The partnership’s goal is a nimble, creative and competent federal government that addresses the complex needs of the nation.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Palm Beach voters also wisely re-elected several competent state lawmakers and flipped two seats from Republican to Democrat.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of competent
Adjective
  • That the decade’s anniversary is considered worth marking indicates that Bowie’s standing remains undiminished, with an end that came only two days after the release of his final album, the masterly Blackstar.
    — Alexander Larman, Time, 10 Jan. 2026
  • The last redoubt was the masterly Structure 27.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Definition of masterly
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.

Browse Nearby Words

haberdashery
habile
habiliment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Habile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/habile. Accessed 13 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

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

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
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
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All