as in skilled
having or showing exceptional knowledge, experience, or skill in a field of endeavor
he's an adept pitcher, and the team is lucky to have him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
even by the standards of Washington, he's an adept at political intrigue and power politics
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 adept
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
24 June 2026
Madeline Brewer proved adept at portraying her character’s fractured psyche, as well as Janine’s attempts to heal.
—
Louis Peitzman,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 June 2026
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
But if the destination is appealing and the driver adept, the journey is bound to be worth taking.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adept
Adjective
The problem is, given that neutral hydrogen is adept at absorbing the ultraviolet light, astronomers have had difficulty tracing that ultraviolet back to its source and identifying which of the two suspects are the main culprit.
—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
24 June 2026
Madeline Brewer proved adept at portraying her character’s fractured psyche, as well as Janine’s attempts to heal.
—
Louis Peitzman,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 June 2026
Noun
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.
—
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
But if the destination is appealing and the driver adept, the journey is bound to be worth taking.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adept
Adjective
-
The plebeians have plenty to be furious about, but their representatives, skilled at turning a crowd into a mob, seem hellbent on shoring up their own influence.
-
It is stored in plain text in RAM and can theoretically be accessed by administrators, cloud operators, hypervisors, or highly skilled attackers through malware, insider threats, or side-channel attacks.
Noun
-
Legislative expert and law professor Chris Micheli said lawmakers frequently include controversial provisions in bills during the early stages of the legislative process.
-
Given the significance of the peace deal, experts said Pakistan will certainly want to leverage its mediation role for economic benefit, particularly in its dealings with allies in Washington and the Gulf.
Adjective
-
There’s likely to be grasping, resisting, skillful and futile efforts to swim and worry about what’s up ahead.
-
One of the few calls of the night was from Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, ready to get his hands on the skillful point guard.
Noun
-
While theology and ministry studies were designated as nonprofessional, the master of divinity degree often pursued by eventual pastors or ministers does retain professional status.
-
In one mega master in San Antonio, Texas, out of the 175 cases ordered to appear before a judge one morning, about 40 people didn’t show up, said attorney Jessica Smith Bobadilla.
Adjective
-
With so many more girls proficient at flag football entering college age, the NAIA in 2020 was first to offer scholarships and implement logistics for the sport’s next phase.
-
The percentage of proficient students in grades 3 to 10 language arts climbed from 57% last year to 61% this year, while math proficiency for grades 3 to 8 climbed from 59% to 62%.
Noun
-
For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era.
-
Debate over the World War I-era killings, widely seen by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century, now collides with international accusations over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Adjective
-
From congested lines for TSA screenings to ever-changing departure times and hard-to-find gates, airports can trip up even the most experienced travelers.
-
Detaille argues that the next wave of premium storytelling could come from pairing online-native creators with experienced film and television writers, producers and executives.
Noun
-
Just two weeks after Bob Dylan guitarist Doug Lancio vanished from the tour and was replaced by jazz virtuoso Julian Lage, Bob Britt — who has played guitar in Dylan’s band since 2019 — has apparently left the group as well.
-
He was widely celebrated as a virtuoso who nurtured America’s economic well-being and whose nearly every utterance was parsed for clues as to where interest rates, the economy and the financial markets might be headed.
Cite this Entry
“Adept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adept. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
