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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

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 skillful The more success rolled, the more damage done, the more skillful the hack and so on. Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025 Powell, skillful at opaque Fed-speak, nonetheless signaled a simulative change is likely. Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025 His actors ever game and skillful would, upon Bob’s suggestions and their imaginations, would turn their bodies into the letter G or throw up their arms like the wings of a crow and open their mouths in a silent scream…. Jem Aswad, Variety, 18 Aug. 2025 The result is a skillful balance between dewy and glossy, blushy and gleamy. Annie Blackman, Allure, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for skillful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skillful
Adjective
  • Kirk Baxter’s arrhythmic cutting is designed around quicksilver shifts that, along with Barry Ackroyd’s restlessly attentive, mostly handheld camerawork, allow Bigelow to redirect our attention with virtuoso command.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Magnificent Seven are also skilled innovators, Cramer continued.
    Julie Coleman, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2025
  • According to a McKinsey Digital survey, 60% of companies agree that the lack of skilled IT professionals is the primary barrier to deploying complex technologies.
    Nia Bowers, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Seville is known for having excellent regular-season races and running masterful rounds in major championships.
    Katelyn Hutchison, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Hijabs Off is a masterful special that Johnson’s career has been building toward for years.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Maria is a wonderfully textured character, at turns flinty and cold and vivacious and funny, and Maura is adept at embodying all sides to this woman.
    Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025
  • And when complexity requires a live agent, that agent must be skilled, experienced, and adept at problem-solving, pointing back to the value of gig workers.
    Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Our expert reviews of JBL headphones consistently praises the brand for balancing strong sound with everyday value, and this pair fits right into that category.
    Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Subscribe to the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.
    September 11, NPR, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The big picture viewpoint is that there will be some LLMs that are less proficient in certain ways, and others that are more proficient in other ways.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • About 56% of CMS students were proficient on statewide exams this year — 3 percentage points better than last year.
    Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Seth Rogen plays a Hollywood studio head torn between making artistic films and movies that will be a surefire commercial success, like a Kool-Aid movie.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Patricia Astorga, the artistic director and founder of DanzArts, said that people who were not Mexican could come to the celebration and see the culture and the dance styles of different regions of Mexico.
    Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In an effort to adapt to these circumstances, Manuylov wrote his book Snowboarding Without Falls (Well, Almost) to help teach intermediate snowboarders how to educate their less experienced friends or partners.
    Maria Williams, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Foster remembered a show Chee produced at a Western Pyrotechnic Association convention that impressed even the most experienced pyrotechnicians.
    Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Skillful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skillful. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on skillful

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