Synonyms

proficiency

American

[pruh-fish-uhn-see] / prəˈfɪʃ ən si /

noun

the state of being proficient; skill; expertness.

proficiency in music.

Other Word Forms

overproficiency noun

Etymology

Origin of proficiency

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin prōfici(ēns) “advancing” ( proficient ) + -ency

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 Germany, nobody gets citizenship without proving basic proficiency in the language of Nietzsche, Goethe and Steffi Graf.

From The Wall Street Journal

"To gain proficiency in alpine skiing, you need a totally different snow cover," she said.

From Barron's

Those fears were compounded in November by the growing power of Anthropic’s Claude Code, which builds software with stunning proficiency.

From The Wall Street Journal

But that also marks a clear transformation in culinary programming from emphasizing the development of proficiency to encouraging consumption.

From Salon

I graduated high school with a decent proficiency in French — better at understanding and reading than speaking — and, soon after, dropped language altogether when it didn’t fit into my collegiate career.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023