1
as in mastery
a highly developed skill in or knowledge of something surprised by his proficiency at the game after only the briefest explanation of the rules

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2
as in skills
knowledge gained by actually doing or living through something acquired proficiency at golf through long hours of practice

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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 proficiency Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, said that kind of proficiency will be critical to building robots able to meet the demands of tomorrow in many industries. Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 26 Aug. 2025 The Department of Transportation found that Singh failed the English language proficiency assessment, answering 2 out of 12 verbal questions correctly and identifying one of four highway signs during a compliance investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 25 Aug. 2025 Singh, who was licensed in California, allegedly failed a roadside English proficiency test, according to homeland security officials. Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025 For students in lower grades, the same trend holds true — proficiency scores based on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness for English and math went down, while science went up slightly. The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for proficiency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proficiency
Noun
  • Level three indicates the mastery of grade-level content, according to the snapshot.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2025
  • My mission in life is to empower leaders to cultivate inner mastery and empathy, knowing that true strength comes from conquering inner battles and developing a growth mindset.
    Dr. Adil Dalal, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That neutralized the advantage Sabalenka would have expected, and forced Sabalenka into first hitting more shots than she’s used to, and then going for too-small margins because of Pegula’s defensive skills once the rallies started.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The president told The Scott Jennings Radio Show that the concession resulted from his hard-nosed negotiating skills.
    Jamie McIntyre, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The Los Angeles experience consists mostly of such tangential connections and brief grazes of luxury.
    Joe Joyce, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The Abu Dhabi experience The new flight lands at Zayed International Airport, which offers a variety of unique experiences for customers.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Delivered to a high standard by Thales’s international team, in close collaboration with industry partners, this achievement showcases the quality, openness, and technical expertise that have defined Thales’s approach to the Type 31 delivery – earning praise from the Royal Navy.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2025
  • But Kennedy has already propagated an insidious revolution within the agencies under his control, using a playbook familiar to illiberal leaders—culling expertise, silencing critics, and weaponizing administrative procedure to grant a veneer of legitimacy to his actions.
    Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The move impacted production of the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ and approximately 360 employees were laid off.
    Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 4 Sep. 2025
  • One reported tiny increases in IQ, with the authors noting that even small differences could support critical tasks like learning and planning.
    Matt Fuchs, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The incident's central command constantly receives progress reports from firefighters on the ground.
    CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Within a week of the demonstrations, Strike Eagles flew with the new weapon in a geographic combatant command’s area of responsibility.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Proficiency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proficiency. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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