talented
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of talented
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English: “inclined, disposed”; talent + -ed 3
Explanation
If you're really good at something, you're talented. Both a professional violinist and an amateur singer with a beautiful voice can be called talented musicians. Talented wordsmiths will know that some other ways to say talented include proficient, adept and skilled. This adjective comes from the noun talent, which talented etymologists have traced back to the Greek root talanton, "balance, weight, or sum of money."
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.
"Daniel was probably more talented than Darren, the trouble with Daniel was he was always being wooed," reveals Mitchell.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
I was lucky to be among such a talented group of people working together this way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Rarely, if ever, has international soccer been blessed with a deeper, more talented and charismatic group of young stars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
And the most encouraging of those moments have largely come from the Trojans’ talented freshman class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The harder he worked, the deeper C.P. sank into the very rut that had swallowed his father, even as he watched the less talented and shiftless children of the wealthy prosper.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
