skillful

[ skil-fuhl ]

/ ˈskɪl fəl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: skillful / skillfully / skillfulness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having or exercising skill: a skillful juggler.

showing or involving skill: a skillful display of fancy diving.

Obsolete. reasonable; rational.

OTHER WORDS FOR skillful

1 ready, adroit, deft, adept, apt, clever, ingenious.

See synonyms for skillful on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR skillful

1 awkward, clumsy, amateurish.

See antonyms for skillful on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also especially British, skil·ful .

Origin of skillful

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at skill¹, -ful

synonym study for skillful

1. 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.

OTHER WORDS FROM skillful

skill·ful·ly, adverbskill·ful·ness, nounquasi-skillful, adjectivequa·si-skill·ful·ly, adverb

Words nearby skillful

Skillcentre, skilled, skilled labor, skilless, skillet, skillful, skilling, skillion, skill-less, skill set, skilly

How to use skillful in a sentence

It’s more rare that you get the chance to watch skillful artists and artisans work.
Top Chef: Portland Was the Kindest Season Yet. Does the Finale Change That?|Elijah Wolfson|July 2, 2021|Time
I feel like they’ve packaged influencer selection services into their overall offering in a very skillful and effective way.
‘A symbiotic relationship’: Why social media platforms are getting in front of the growing creator economy|Kimeko McCoy|June 16, 2021|Digiday
There are simply too many characters jostling for attention in a book that covers more than six decades, and even Leonnig’s skillful writing can’t quite overcome the numbing impact of so much detail.
The ‘frat boy culture’ of the Secret Service|Rosa Brooks|May 14, 2021|Washington Post
As I watched on opening night, I could appreciate the beautiful and skillful filmmaking, but that did not prevent the emotional roller coaster I felt as I watched almost two years of our relationship condensed into 20 minutes of footage.
What ‘Free Solo’ Taught Me About Love|Sanni McCandless|May 5, 2021|Outside Online

That’s thanks to skillful fighting, venom and lots of prey-wrapping silk.
Tiny spider uses silk to lift prey 50 times its own weight|Susan Milius|March 26, 2021|Science News For Students
So is science just another upaya, or skillful means, to spread Buddhist teaching?
What If Meditation Isn’t Good for You?|Jay Michaelson|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But NPs are quite capable of delivering skillful primary care without my looking over their shoulders.
Why Nurses Should Be Able to Practice Without Doctors|Russell Saunders|May 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even the most quick-witted cops and the most skillful surgeons could not have saved him.
The Black and White Men Who Saved Martin Luther King’s Life|Michael Daly|January 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you look in the dictionary today, it says “naiad: any skillful female wimmer.”
The Crossword Puzzle Turns 100: The ‘King of Crossword’ on Its Strange History|Kevin Fallon|December 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He was medevacced to Dallas and survived only to face the smart and skillful Fernandez in court.
Mike McLelland Investigation Focuses on Those the D.A. Prosecuted|Michael Daly|April 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Coldriver did not know there was such a thing as inviting patronage by skillful display.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland
The Girondists knew to whom they were indebted for many of the most skillful parries and retaliatory blows.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
He earned thirty-six francs a month by his position to support himself, but he was neat and skillful.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
Skillful work had made it seem a vital thing to the people, and hundreds of letters and telegrams poured in to representatives.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland
It is a powerful summary, and a skillful plea for the adoption of a policy of conciliation with the colonies of America.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster