PAST MASTER Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

past master

noun

Definition of past master

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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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 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 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 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

The high number is likely boosted by unusually warm water and the presence of an El Niño weather phenomenon with potentially historic rain for California, experts have said.

— Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
The page says the funds will be used only for legal expenses, including filings, transcripts, investigators and experts.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of expert

Noun

The fragrances have been in development for roughly two-and-a-half years and were created with master perfumers Frank Voelkl and Shyamala Maisondieu.

— Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026
That data monitoring, in addition to master literacy coaches at each CMS campus to address specific student learning needs, has made a big impact, Balknight said.

— Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of master

Noun

Activist networks and legal scholars are rehearsing doomsday scenarios, planning mass protests and advising judges on ballot seizures and ICE deployments, underscoring fears that the midterms could stress-test American democracy.

— Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Rediscovered in 1987, the painting was initially associated with Caravaggio himself before scholars settled on Cavarozzi.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 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

Stomp-and-holler virtuoso Noah Kahan had to cancel his July appearance at Citi Field when storm clouds threatened.

— Matthew Schneier, Curbed, 27 Aug. 2026
Roy Clark could show up at Felix and Oscar’s New York apartment in The Odd Couple to demonstrate his virtuoso pickin’ skills and be summoned to Burbank to sub in for Johnny Carson as a guest host of The Tonight Show.

— David Kamp, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of virtuoso

Noun

Was hearing Roland Hayes and, in time, other inspiring artists sing Schubert, Brahms, and Schumann songs like being beckoned by a musical brook to trust her instincts and follow its unlikely path?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
That’s the route for a lot of alt rock artists having to do the radio shows, lay the groundwork, and not just have a hit blow up and have people throw money at you.

— Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of artist

Noun

Longtime rankings guru Loren Maxwell figured out a way to create high school football schedules with maximum competitive matchups and minimized travel … and then applied it to all 413 GHSA schools.

— Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
This was the Jack Kornfield, the mindfulness guru who wrote A Path With Heart, the book that had launched Britton’s journey into Buddhism.

— Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of guru

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“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of past master

noun

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