as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
a movie director who was widely regarded as the past master of suspense
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Recent Examples of past master
There is a certainty to her sentences that sets her alongside past masters (your William Trevors, your Anton Chekhovs) and a singular beauty to her observations.
—
Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Coppola, a past master at directing actors, allows his performers – who include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, and Nathalie Emmanuel – to shamelessly ham it up.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024
And he is positioned as the chief foreign luminary at the festival’s anniversary tribute to past master Ozu Yasujiro.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
The fact that the company is designing a standalone robotaxi speaks to its failures in executing past master plans.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2023
Does this past master of starting crazes see the Reddit phenomenon as a long-overdue democratization of the stock market, or a frenzy detached from the fundamentals of investing?
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2021
Wonder, a past master of love songs, makes a demand that tests the output of every contemporary pop singer and every jaded fan.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Nov. 2020
The locked-room mystery—not just a whodunnit but a how-done-it—pays homage to past masters such as John Dickson Carr and Gaston Leroux.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
When the ensemble made its first national tour, playing Orchestra Hall in September 1992, Marsalis and friends were trying to show that America needed a world-class jazz orchestra that could honor past masters while forging future ones.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Nov. 2019
Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Coppola, a past master at directing actors, allows his performers – who include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, and Nathalie Emmanuel – to shamelessly ham it up.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024
And he is positioned as the chief foreign luminary at the festival’s anniversary tribute to past master Ozu Yasujiro.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
The fact that the company is designing a standalone robotaxi speaks to its failures in executing past master plans.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2023
Does this past master of starting crazes see the Reddit phenomenon as a long-overdue democratization of the stock market, or a frenzy detached from the fundamentals of investing?
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2021
Wonder, a past master of love songs, makes a demand that tests the output of every contemporary pop singer and every jaded fan.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Nov. 2020
The locked-room mystery—not just a whodunnit but a how-done-it—pays homage to past masters such as John Dickson Carr and Gaston Leroux.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
When the ensemble made its first national tour, playing Orchestra Hall in September 1992, Marsalis and friends were trying to show that America needed a world-class jazz orchestra that could honor past masters while forging future ones.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for past master
Noun
-
Ying-yu Lin, a PLA expert at Tamkang University in Taipei, said the consistently rising defense budget shows that China’s military needs have not declined because of changes like economic slowdown.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Claude initially refused to cooperate with the hacking attempts and even denied requests to cover the hackers’ digital tracks, the experts who discovered the breach said.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Open positions include detention officer, recreation supervisor, certified medical assistant, psychiatrist, shift supervisor, assistant shift supervisor, master scheduler, locksmith, maintenance worker and human resource assistant.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
11 Mar. 2026
-
And though the grill master in you may automatically want to put a firepit or outdoor kitchen under your new corner pergola, doing so could pose a serious fire or smoke hazard.—
Melissa Minton,
Architectural Digest,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Her grandfather, the Buddhist scholar and Tibet House co-founder Robert Thurman, began the night with praise for the artists and a sermon on the right of everyone to be happy.—
Hillel Italie,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Salerno suggests that several documents in the first few hundred years after Michelangelo's death correctly attribute the work to the artist but that in 1984 a scholar debunked it, erroneously in her view, and it has remained wrongly attributed ever since.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Animal physiologist Peter Hansen, a professor at the University of Florida who was not involved with the Veronika research, said he’s unsurprised by her adept handling of tools given the high levels of cognition he’s observed in cows.—
Leslie Katz,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Radcliffe played the titular wizard Harry Potter in the beloved franchise, while Felton portrayed Potter's nemesis Draco Malfoy.—
Yi-Jin Yu,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The wizard responsible for this remarkable bit of time travel is production designer Alex DiGerlando, who happens to have some first-hand memories of the period from attending NYU during in the 1990s.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But this is why, like any virtuoso, there is an undeniable continuity of his work.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Abdul-Jabbar, the low-post virtuoso who made more than 50% of his shots in 19 straight seasons to start his career, attempted only 28,307 field goals – and just 18 of them were 3-pointers after the shot was introduced to the league midway through his career.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The center hosts exhibitions, educational opportunities, and workshops, and many artists show and sell their work in local village galleries.—
Molly Allen,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Once leasing begins, the apartments will be listed through the city's affordable housing portal, DAHLIA, where applicants with artist certification will be able to apply.—
Loureen Ayyoub,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Walking the show were Fakemink and Nettspend, two pillars of what label execs and marketing gurus are betting speaks to the Gen Z zeitgeist.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Jake LaRavia had a guru on the bench.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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