skillful

especially British, skil·ful

[skil-fuhl]

adjective

1. having or exercising skill.

   a skillful juggler.

   Synonyms: ingenious, clever, apt, adept, deft, adroit, ready
   Antonyms: amateurish, clumsy, awkward

2. showing or involving skill.

   a skillful display of fancy diving.

3. Obsolete.,  reasonable; rational.

Other Word Forms

• skillfully adverb
• skillfulness noun
• quasi-skillful adjective
• quasi-skillfully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of skillful¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; skill ¹, -ful

Synonym Study

Skillful, skilled, expert refer to readiness and adroitness in an occupation, craft, or art. Skillful suggests especially adroitness and dexterity: a skillful watchmaker. Skilled implies having had long experience and thus having acquired a high degree of proficiency: not an amateur but a skilled worker. Expert means having the highest degree of proficiency; it may mean much the same as skillful or skilled, or both: expert workmanship. See also dexterous.

Example Sentences

“He emphasized materials in a very skillful way. His lighting creates spatial depth. You get a different idea of what the architecture consists of.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

With a few clucks and some skillful handling of the reins, he urged the horse to pull their carriage sideways, blocking the way.

Read more on Literature

But McKenzie, the son of Southland dairy farmers, has been resilient, selfless and, as ever, highly skillful.

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“Literature nowadays is a trade,” Milvain insists: Putting aside men of genius, who may succeed by mere cosmic force, your successful man of letters is your skillful tradesman.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The irony is that these tactics were once the preserve of less skillful teams that had few other ways of getting anywhere near the goal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• accomplished 
• adept 
• adroit 
• competent 
• experienced 
• practical 
• proficient 
• seasoned www.thesaurus.com
• skilled 
• smart 
• trained www.thesaurus.com