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proficient

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word proficient distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of proficient are adept, expert, skilled, and skillful. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

When might adept be a better fit than proficient?

In some situations, the words adept and proficient are roughly equivalent. However, adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When could expert be used to replace proficient?

The words expert and proficient can be used in similar contexts, but expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

In what contexts can skilled take the place of proficient?

The synonyms skilled and proficient are sometimes interchangeable, but skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

When is it sensible to use skillful instead of proficient?

While the synonyms skillful and proficient are close in meaning, skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

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 proficient
Adjective
The 2024 Nation’s Report Card revealed that only 26% of Arizona’s fourth graders and 25% of eighth graders were proficient in reading. Arlyssa D. Becenti, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025 After her elimination from the ABC reality competition series, Sorvino kept training, spending the next two years taking classes to become proficient in jazz dancing. Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
The Ganado Unified School District saw a 159 percent increase in students who tested proficient. Arlyssa D. Becenti, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025 Hispanic kids were likewise lagging the state average, 37% proficient in English and 30% in mathematics. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for proficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proficient
Adjective
  • La Galerie du 19M Tokyo, which opens to the public on Tuesday, underlines the importance of skilled labor in the face of AI, generational transition and debate about the value of luxury goods, as the house prepares for the first show by its new artistic director Matthieu Blazy.
    Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The additional hurdle for H-1B visas—a category for high-skilled workers that many tech companies rely upon—could undermine America’s ability to attract top tech talent, Bansal explained.
    Kristin Stoller, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • An effective trustee is skilled in conflict resolution and adept at maintaining open communication while prioritizing the trust’s objectives.
    Royce Ramey, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • Ragnar is one of the very best Nordic crime writers, as skillful in thrillers like this series as in murder mystery stories.
    Anders de la Motte, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Setting boundaries requires a balance of self-awareness and skillful communication.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Some states have instituted requirements for websites with adult or pornographic content to verify visitors' age before granting access, although tech experts have pointed out VPNs can be used to get around those guardrails.
    Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The Asheville Citizen Times asked a public policy expert about the shutdown.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Space near the stadium is at a premium, and experienced tail-Gators often get up at the crack of dawn to stake out their territory.
    Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The Billboard Daily Crossword puzzle is powered by PuzzleMe™, created by an experienced team of crossword puzzle-making pros with oversight from the trivia hounds on Billboard’s staff.
    Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Bettany played English poet and writer Geoffrey Chaucer in the medieval action-comedy, which starred Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, who forges a new identity for himself as a knight when his master dies.
    Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
  • The show, starring Ricardo Gómez and Óscar Jaenada, explores the friendship between a shy young man preparing for the application tests for public office while working as a part-time taxi driver and a master bullfighter.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In recent months, as despotism intensified an increasing number of writers, scholars, and thinkers were declared foreign agents, and their books were taken off the shelves.
    Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Dozens of press freedom groups and more than 100 leading writers, journalists and scholars called for Guevara’s release from ICE detention.
    Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Your little virtuoso can also activate the pixel piano player mode that builds and displays cool versions of their favorite animals.
    Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Earlier, John Mayer opened with an easygoing, hour-long set interspersed with his moments of virtuoso guitar heat.
    Brian McCollum, Freep.com, 27 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Proficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proficient. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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