masterly
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
Commonly Confused
See masterful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of masterly
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English; see origin at master, -ly
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.
In 1857, The Times praised it as "masterly in conception and effect" and a worthy partner to Monarch of the Glen.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Writing about the U.N. deliberations on Iraq, Will gushed over Secretary of State Colin Powell’s supposedly sober, masterly and “unhistrionic” presentation.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
“Mask & Bone” by Jamesie Fournier is a slightly overwritten but otherwise masterly unmasking of ordinary family life that reveals ancient secrets and generational trauma of the supernatural kind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Doig, who received a midcareer retrospective at Tate Britain in 2018, is a figurative painter with a masterly flair for color and light.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2024
But the way he said nothing was masterly.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
