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
- noncompetently adverb
- uncompetently adverb
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.
They also know that, as Afghanistan showed, those complex consular issues can become for much of the public the most vivid way of judging how competently the government is handling an international crisis.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
In a press release issued Friday, Wilson said the company’s transition announcement was a “tremendous failure by the Board to competently plan for the future and manage an effective succession process.”
From Barron's • Dec. 13, 2025
Returning director Dan Trachtenberg hits the beats competently but not too stridently, like a good superfan should.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 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
He argued frequently and fairly competently with the judges.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
