adept
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
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very proficient in something requiring skill or manual dexterity
-
skilful; expert
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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adeptnessnoun
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nonadeptadjective
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unadeptadjective
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adeptlyadverb
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nonadeptlyadverb
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unadeptlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adept
First recorded in 1655–65; from Medieval Latin adeptus “one who has attained (the secret of transmuting metals),” noun use of Latin past participle of adipiscī “to attain to” ( ad- “toward” + -ep- combining form of ap- in aptus + -tus past participle suffix); see ad-, apt
Explanation
Are you looking for another word to describe a person who is highly skilled, very proficient or expert at something? Try the adjective adept! In the days of Medieval Latin, an adeptus was a person who had learned the secrets of alchemy. Although an adept person today cannot turn lead into gold, the adjective is still high praise meaning "skilled, expert, highly proficient."
Vocabulary lists containing adept
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The Phantom Tollbooth
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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.
See Examples For:
Artificial intelligence has become so adept at creating realistic images, it is increasingly hard to figure out what is real or not.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Equally at home in shadowy dives and modern mansions, she proves an adept investigator, with Sherlockian observational skills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
And, as it turns out, Hawk and Pína might not have the whole roster, either; they’re just more adept at acting as though they do.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
He’s a 24-year-old, defensively adept big man who would be a great pickup, just hard to get.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
Our campaign was under the capable leadership of Popo Molefe, Terror Lekota, and Ketso Gordhan, all veteran UDF activists adept at mass mobilization.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
And now we know that there are two types, or at least two types, and they have this relationship as adepts and drones.
From Salon ● May 15, 2022
Literature extolling the virtues of silence has been accumulating for millennia, in Hindu and Buddhist scriptures, in sayings of Christian hermits and mystics, in teachings by modern yoga adepts and meditators.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 27, 2017
The Lioness in Winter recounts Burack-Weiss’ coming to terms with life past 70, a quest she pursued by immersing herself in the work of several old female writers she regards as adepts: May Sarton, M.F.K.
From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2016
She collected over four hundred alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes, and corresponded with other alchemical adepts about materials and laboratory techniques.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2015
There are a few genuine adepts present who throw themselves rapturously into the music, eyes shut, arms upraised, waiting, no doubt, for the onset of glossolalia.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
