as in skilled
having or showing exceptional knowledge, experience, or skill in a field of endeavor
she is quite proficient at computer repair a proficient rendition of a difficult piano piece
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in adept
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
an urgent call by the state department for proficients in Arabic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of proficient
Ethan Hylton, IndyStar, 30 July 2025
Slater is also highly proficient in that aspect of the game.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 27 July 2025
Yet fewer than half of employers rate graduates as proficient in problem-solving or critical thinking.
—Andrew Lopez, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Literacy expert Molly Ness, PhD, who was interviewed as part of her partnership with Amazon, notes that 65 percent of fourth graders aren’t reading at a proficient level.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for proficient
Adjective
For example, only 57% of homeless students were proficient in third-grade early literacy assessments, according to the Brightlane Learning Homeless Education 2024 Report.
—Ethan Hylton, IndyStar, 30 July 2025
Slater is also highly proficient in that aspect of the game.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 27 July 2025
Yet fewer than half of employers rate graduates as proficient in problem-solving or critical thinking.
—Andrew Lopez, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Literacy expert Molly Ness, PhD, who was interviewed as part of her partnership with Amazon, notes that 65 percent of fourth graders aren’t reading at a proficient level.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for proficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proficient
Adjective
-
The team must be skilled in rigorous experimentation to enable translation of data into meaningful insights.—
Mohit Agrawal,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
That third party might be a therapist, a religious leader or a friend who is skilled at remaining neutral and asking questions.—
R Eric Thomas,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The digital adept also had a nearly eight-year stretch at Teen Vogue.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
-
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
-
The story follows Winston Smith, a skillful worker rewriting history in the Ministry of Truth, who starts to look back fondly on the days before the Party took over the region of Oceania and implemented their cult of personality devoid of free thought and individuality.—
Robert English,
EW.com,
30 July 2025
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But the game's structure also allows skillful and/or impatient players to zip to the game's conclusion quite quickly, rushing through the visually inventive bosses that guard the game's major chokepoints.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
At the time, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, pushed back on the notion that anyone was moving slowly, saying WHO experts didn't have complete information with which to assess the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Some cybersecurity experts disputed Musk’s claims that a state actor was responsible.—
Ty Roush,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
According to the study, all participants were highly experienced, and AI was the only modifiable factor among them.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Then hire an experienced professional—maybe two—to own them outright.—
Chad Willardson,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Rihanna has long been the master of maternity fashion.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
8 Aug. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Proficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proficient. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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