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
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
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
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
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
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
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
-
Dealing with rising costs and a pursuit of experiences and self-care are taking precedence over long-term financial planning, experts observed.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
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Working in unprepared landscapes puts firefighters' lives at risk, said Alexander Held, a senior expert in fire management at the European Forest Institute, adding authorities should prepare by creating buffer zones and clearing combustible vegetation.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Rihanna has long been the master of maternity fashion.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
8 Aug. 2025
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Those students could earn $55,000 while taking classes for their master’s degrees and working in the field under mentors at MPS.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On every episode of this podcast, host Lena Crown speaks with writers, artists, critics, and scholars across generations who have awakened something for one another.—
Awakeners
August 7,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Yet Putin, who likely has a coterie of scholars on international criminal law who have explained to him the mechanics of personal immunity, is likely to do everything to hold onto power for as long as possible, to avoid losing his protection from trial for war crimes and armed aggression.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Entertainment Weekly has learned that a new group of actors are taking over the iconic roles for Pottermore Publishing and Audible's productions of J.K. Rowling's original seven books about the young boy wizard.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 Aug. 2025
-
More than 600 million books about the boy wizard have been sold whilst the 11 movies about them have grossed $9.7 billion and the latest Potter videogame generated $850 million in just its first two weeks.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The digital adept also had a nearly eight-year stretch at Teen Vogue.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
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Slot shares this staple of Tottenham counterpart Ange Postecoglou’s attacking principles, with Porro adept at tucking inside to disrupt the opposition shape.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Match tells the true story of how, in the face of discrimination and exclusion, British-Jewish rising tennis star Angela Buxton and African American athletic virtuoso Althea Gibson formed an unlikely pair that took Wimbledon by storm and forged a lifelong friendship.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 May 2025
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Billy Woods rose out of the Brooklyn rap underground as a virtuoso poet, one of hip-hop’s most independent and brilliant minds over the past two decades.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
10 May 2025
Noun
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The artist honorees: Sylvester Stallone, country singer George Strait, British stage actor Michael Crawford, disco star Gloria Gaynor, and glam rockers KISS.—
Robert Abitbol,
USA Today,
16 Aug. 2025
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The artist found out about the sweet gesture after his show, and responded with a sweet gesture.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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His gurus through the years ranged from Krishnamurti, to Ram Dass and D.T..—
Jon Raymond
August 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
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Perhaps the most fascinating peek behind the curtain, however, comes at her career transition to Goop guru.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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