virtuosity
noun
vir·tu·os·i·ty
ˌvər-chü-ˈä-sə-tē 
plural virtuosities
1
: great technical skill (as in the practice of a fine art)
2
: a taste for or interest in virtu
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Virtuosity is used particularly to describe musicians, but also often for writers, actors, dancers, and athletes. A virtuoso is a highly skilled performer, and a virtuoso performance is one that astonishes the audience by its feats. In ancient Greece the cities would hold male competitions in acrobatics, conjuring, public reciting, blowing the trumpet, and acting out scenes from Homer's epics, the winners of which would have been praised as virtuous, or "full of manly virtues".
Examples of virtuosity in a Sentence
Her virtuosity on the piano is amazing.
Recent Examples on the Web
The restoration’s selection for Cannes Classics represents a fitting homecoming for a film widely considered one of the greatest action movies ever made, finally allowing new audiences to experience Woo’s balletic violence and technical virtuosity on the big screen as originally intended.
—
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2025
Most of the film plays out in something close to real time, and the directors, loath to hurry scenes along, slow the action down with a technical virtuosity that sometimes tilts into self-admiration.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
Snook’s virtuosity is such that all three, whether live or recorded or both at once, are convincing and compelling, at least in the first of the play’s two hours.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Belushi's time on Saturday Night Live was fraught and fruitful in equal measure, the brilliant comedian hurling himself into the backstage drama and onstage virtuosity with similarly bottomless capacity.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
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Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2025
Most of the film plays out in something close to real time, and the directors, loath to hurry scenes along, slow the action down with a technical virtuosity that sometimes tilts into self-admiration.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
Snook’s virtuosity is such that all three, whether live or recorded or both at once, are convincing and compelling, at least in the first of the play’s two hours.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Belushi's time on Saturday Night Live was fraught and fruitful in equal measure, the brilliant comedian hurling himself into the backstage drama and onstage virtuosity with similarly bottomless capacity.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virtuosity
Cite this Entry
“Virtuosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtuosity. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
virtuosity
noun
vir·tu·os·i·ty
ˌvər-chə-ˈwäs-ət-ē
plural virtuosities
: great performing ability in the fine arts
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