adept

[adjective uh-dept; noun ad-ept, uh-dept]

See more synonyms for adept on Thesaurus.com

adjective

very skilled; proficient; expert: an adept juggler.

noun ad·ept

[ad-ept, uh-dept] /ˈæd ɛpt, əˈdɛpt/

a skilled or proficient person; expert.

Origin of adept

1655–65; < Medieval Latin adeptus one who has attained (the secret of transmuting metals), noun use of L past participle of adipiscī to attain to (ad- ad- + -ep-, combining form of ap- in aptus apt + -tus past participle suffix)

Related formsa·dept·ly, adverba·dept·ness, nounnon·a·dept, adjectivenon·a·dept·ly, adverbnon·a·dept·ness, nounun·a·dept, adjectiveun·a·dept·ly, adverbun·a·dept·ness, noun

Can be confusedadapt adept adopt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for adeptness

artistry, expertness, adroitness, mastery, artfulness, proficiency, deftness, craft, command, expertise, skill, knack

Examples from the Web for adeptness

Contemporary Examples of adeptness

Adeptness in the performance of our values must be ever-present, but identifying and sticking with those values come first.
Liberals Need to Learn to Say No
Bernhard Schlink
July 10, 2014

Historical Examples of adeptness

He didn't handle them with the adeptness of a Belt man, but he wasn't too awkward.
Anchorite
Randall Garrett
Some men are born with an adeptness for crime of a certain character.
How to Become Rich
William Windsor
Also his adeptness in dodging was called upon more and more.
The Young Pitcher
Zane Grey
His eye is always upon his neighbour's defects, and I never cease to marvel at its adeptness.
Brother Copas
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
If so, the little trick had been done with deplorable spontaneity or adeptness of usage.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete
George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for adeptness

adept

adjective (əˈdɛpt)

very proficient in something requiring skill or manual dexterity
skilful; expert

noun (ˈædɛpt)

a person who is skilled or proficient in something

Derived Formsadeptly, adverbadeptness, noun

Word Origin for adept

C17: from Medieval Latin adeptus, from Latin adipiscī to attain, from ad- to + apiscī to attain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adeptness

adept

"an expert," especially "one who is skilled in the secrets of anything," 1660s, from Latin adeptus (see adept (adj.)). The Latin adjective was used as a noun in this sense in Medieval Latin among alchemists.

adept

adj.

1690s, "completely skilled" from Latin adeptus "having reached, attained," past participle of adipisci "to come up with, arrive at," figuratively "to attain to, acquire," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + apisci "grasp, attain," related to aptus "fitted" (see apt). Related: Adeptly.