Synonyms of skilled

skilled

adjective

ˈskild 

as in proficient

having or showing exceptional knowledge, experience, or skill in a field of endeavor

a delicate brain operation requiring the services of a highly skilled surgeon

Synonyms & Similar Words

• proficient
• adept
• experienced
• expert
• talented
• skillful
• practiced
• educated
• good
• accomplished
• gifted
• veteran
• great
• virtuoso
• masterful
• master
• practised
• versed
• capable
• professed
• consummate
• masterly
• complete
• ace
• trained
• competent
• employable
• crackerjack
• crack
• qualified
• efficient
• adroit
• effective
• dexterous
• dextrous
• clever
• compleat
• deft
• polished
• knowledgeable
• handy
• able
• old
• taught
• slick
• schooled
• workmanlike
• refined
• effectual
• fitted
• sure-handed
• multiskilled
• all-round
• well-rounded
• fit
• long-term
• multitalented
• all-around
• tutored
• habile

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unskilled
• inexperienced
• amateur
• incompetent
• incapable
• inexpert
• unable
• weak
• unqualified
• inept
• unprofessional
• amateurish
• unseasoned
• unskillful
• unfit
• crude
• unfitted
• inefficient
• ineffective
• artless
• rude
• would-be
• ineffectual
• untrained
• inexperienced
• ignorant
• jackleg
• untalented
• new
• beginning
• unschooled
• untutored
• untaught
• green
• raw
• primitive
• untested
• unseasoned
• untried
• ungifted
• talentless
• unpolished
• rough
• clumsy
• awkward
• heavy-handed
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed

Synonym Chooser

How is the word skilled distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of skilled are adept, expert, proficient, and skillful. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

When might adept be a better fit than skilled?

The synonyms adept and skilled are sometimes interchangeable, but adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When can expert be used instead of skilled?

The meanings of expert and skilled largely overlap; however, expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

When is it sensible to use proficient instead of skilled?

In some situations, the words proficient and skilled are roughly equivalent. However, proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

When could skillful be used to replace skilled?

While in some cases nearly identical to skilled, skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of skilled

For years, Kim Jong Un’s repressive regime has successfully sent skilled coders abroad where they’re tasked with finding remote work and sending money back to the heavily sanctioned and isolated nation. —Matt Burgess, Wired News, 7 Aug. 2025

But experts have said doing so would be challenging because of a lack of a skilled technical workforce, and higher labor costs. —Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2025

The man has a mind uniquely skilled at revealing the threats lurking behind seemingly innocuous environments — in this case, a Pennsylvania town called Maybrook, where the mass disappearance turns mild-mannered parents into an angry mob. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025

Ride horseback with local gauchos (skilled horsemen) near the quaint towns of Cachi or Cafayate. —Carola Fresno, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2025