competently
Americanadverb
-
well or with sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc..
Everything was done professionally and very competently.
-
adequately but not exceptionally.
The piece is competently performed, but no more.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of competently
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our experience reinforced another lesson: When government is well-designed, narrowly focused and competently managed, it can deliver exceptional value to the public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
That can be incredibly unsettling, especially to do-it-yourselfers used to handling finances competently on their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2025
“Beneficiaries of an estate can ask to remove a personal representative when they have demonstrated that they cannot competently manage estate affairs,” according to the Martin Law Office LLC.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2025
Ensuring that heat pumps are installed competently is paramount, says Steven Metcalf at the University of Warwick.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025
Colonel Cathcart transferred a round glass paperweight competently from the right edge of his desk to the left edge and picked up a sharpened pencil.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
