1
as in virtuoso
accomplished with trained ability
the ice skater performed a skillful and graceful series of jumps
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in skill
subtle or imaginative ability in inventing, devising, or executing something
the skillfulness with which she handled that touchy situation is indeed admirable
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of skillful
Judy Berman, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
The 5-11, 187-pound receiver is skillful at running routes and can create separation with his quick feet.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
Mackey does especially skillful work conveying the legibility of Ella’s personal anxiety and political passion.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2025
Even the uninitiated will be beguiled, though, by the director’s meditative style, his skillful portrait of industrial upheaval and decay, and the sense of wistfulness driving Tao’s lovely performance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skillful
Adjective
Pine is once again a dynamic hero, relying on skillful manipulation more than brute force.
—Judy Berman, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
The 5-11, 187-pound receiver is skillful at running routes and can create separation with his quick feet.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
Mackey does especially skillful work conveying the legibility of Ella’s personal anxiety and political passion.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2025
Even the uninitiated will be beguiled, though, by the director’s meditative style, his skillful portrait of industrial upheaval and decay, and the sense of wistfulness driving Tao’s lovely performance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for skillful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skillful
Adjective
-
McIntosh, a brilliant composer who has a sideline as a virtuoso early-music violinist, revelled in the microtonal shadings that Feldman built into his notation.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Six points clear of Manchester City and Villa, Arsenal can boast form and — for the first time in a while — fitness, with Declan Rice marking his return to the lineup with a virtuoso two-goal display against Bournemouth.—
Jack Bantock,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The skilled direction of performance from the cast.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
-
In the rest of the territory, companies or nations attempting to mine would have to build their own energy grid and transport networks, given the interior’s lack of either, as well as import an entire skilled labor force.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Using skills, Codex can pull design assets from Figma, manage bug tracking and releases in Linear, deploy applications to cloud platforms such as Vercel and Cloudflare, and generate images using OpenAI’s image model.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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Kate had changed her hair into a stylish bob — but apparently hadn’t updated her mothering skills — two years later when, in the sequel, Kevin again was discovered missing, at the Miami airport.—
Jocelyn Noveck,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Mike Vrabel has done a masterful coaching job to pull this team to the Super Bowl, but New England’s offense won’t be enough in this game.—
J.J. Bailey,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 2026
-
In his masterful first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, ghouls and spirits keep chattering away, as if at a corner barbershop, while Abraham Lincoln mourns his dead 11-year-old son, Willie.—
Pico Iyer,
Air Mail,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
To their credit, the Heat are quite good at pivoting and have proven adept at handling a ticking clock.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Others might not be as adept at doing so.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
For full daily and monthly horoscopes as well as expert readings, see our full Horoscopes experience.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Sign up for Ced’s Corner Sign up for Cedric Golden’s newsletter for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Boston Dynamics is especially well known by consumers for its YouTube videos of dancing and otherwise gymnastically proficient robots, including the dog-like Spot and the more human-like robot Atlas.—
Jan Wagner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
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There is a solid chance that the AI might not be proficient at performing music therapy.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The French Armenian fashion designer, who has served as the artistic director of the maison’s menswear division for 38 years, presented her final collection at the Palais Brongniart in Paris on Saturday.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Hastie recently joined the National Theatre as deputy artistic director.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skillful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skillful. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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