Synonyms of skillful

skillful

adjective

ˈskil-fəl 

1

as in virtuoso

accomplished with trained ability

the ice skater performed a skillful and graceful series of jumps

Synonyms & Similar Words

• virtuoso
• masterful
• expert
• artistic
• delicate
• adroit
• smooth
• artful
• dexterous
• deft
• masterly
• dextrous
• workmanlike
• practised
• practiced
• bravura
• adept
• creative
• ingenious
• clever
• cunning
• competent
• capable
• facile
• adequate
• neat
• fancy
• able

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• amateur
• crude
• artless
• unprofessional
• rude
• amateurish
• clumsy
• awkward
• unskillful
• ineffective
• incompetent
• ineffectual
• inept
• klutzy

2

as in skilled

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

performance testing of automobiles that should be done only by skillful drivers on a closed course

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word skillful distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of skillful are adept, expert, proficient, and skilled. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

In what contexts can adept take the place of skillful?

While in some cases nearly identical to skillful, adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When is it sensible to use expert instead of skillful?

Although the words expert and skillful have much in common, expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

When would proficient be a good substitute for skillful?

The synonyms proficient and skillful are sometimes interchangeable, but proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

When might skilled be a better fit than skillful?

While the synonyms skilled and skillful are close in meaning, skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of skillful

Love, the film suggests, has always been a strategic, material affair, a matter of skillful hunting and gathering. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 9 June 2025

Here, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell’s zoo menagerie is perhaps even more skillful from a design perspective. —Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 5 June 2025

Several would require the skillful balancing of adverse political interests, including labor unions, real estate companies and pro-tenant groups. —Mihir Zaveri, New York Times, 1 June 2025

In short, this is about being emotionally skillful and multifaceted. —Ximena Araya-Fischel, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025