as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
a movie director who was widely regarded as the past master of suspense
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Recent Examples of past master
There is a certainty to her sentences that sets her alongside past masters (your William Trevors, your Anton Chekhovs) and a singular beauty to her observations.
—
Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Coppola, a past master at directing actors, allows his performers – who include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, and Nathalie Emmanuel – to shamelessly ham it up.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024
And he is positioned as the chief foreign luminary at the festival’s anniversary tribute to past master Ozu Yasujiro.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
The fact that the company is designing a standalone robotaxi speaks to its failures in executing past master plans.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2023
Wonder, a past master of love songs, makes a demand that tests the output of every contemporary pop singer and every jaded fan.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Nov. 2020
Does this past master of starting crazes see the Reddit phenomenon as a long-overdue democratization of the stock market, or a frenzy detached from the fundamentals of investing?
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2021
The locked-room mystery—not just a whodunnit but a how-done-it—pays homage to past masters such as John Dickson Carr and Gaston Leroux.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
When the ensemble made its first national tour, playing Orchestra Hall in September 1992, Marsalis and friends were trying to show that America needed a world-class jazz orchestra that could honor past masters while forging future ones.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Nov. 2019
Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
Coppola, a past master at directing actors, allows his performers – who include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, and Nathalie Emmanuel – to shamelessly ham it up.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024
And he is positioned as the chief foreign luminary at the festival’s anniversary tribute to past master Ozu Yasujiro.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023
The fact that the company is designing a standalone robotaxi speaks to its failures in executing past master plans.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2023
Wonder, a past master of love songs, makes a demand that tests the output of every contemporary pop singer and every jaded fan.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Nov. 2020
Does this past master of starting crazes see the Reddit phenomenon as a long-overdue democratization of the stock market, or a frenzy detached from the fundamentals of investing?
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2021
The locked-room mystery—not just a whodunnit but a how-done-it—pays homage to past masters such as John Dickson Carr and Gaston Leroux.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
When the ensemble made its first national tour, playing Orchestra Hall in September 1992, Marsalis and friends were trying to show that America needed a world-class jazz orchestra that could honor past masters while forging future ones.
—Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 16 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for past master
Noun
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Only 20 experts out of the roughly 525 who did the work at USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance and its Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Relief are being hired by PRM, the source said.—
Jonathan Landay,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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By not smoking, moving more, managing your weight, and sticking with a healthy diet (such as the Mediterranean diet), according to experts.—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Every art lover must visit The Louvre at least once in their lifetime not just to see Leonardo’s incredible Mona Lisa and the famous Venus de Milo but for the quieter galleries too in the Richelieu wing with works by masters like Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer.—
Joanne Shurvell,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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Get The Recipe 02 of 10 Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake Some of Grandma’s recipes take a practiced hand in the kitchen to master, but old-school dump cake recipes are literally foolproof.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
19 May 2025
Noun
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We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University—and this nation—immeasurably.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 May 2025
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If these global scholars stay home or go elsewhere, that’s bad economic news for cities and towns across the United States, wrote Barnet Sherman, a professor of multinational finance and trade at Boston University.—
Corey Mitchell,
The Conversation,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Sandra Oh and more, the new Smurfs will follow the residents of Smurf Village banding together to rescue Papa Smurf after he is captured by an evil wizard.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
16 May 2025
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Its decision to open a theme park in Abu Dhabi was the driving force behind the rapprochement and the wizards who helped that happen work for Miral, the leading leisure operator in the Middle East.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Noun
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Slot shares this staple of Tottenham counterpart Ange Postecoglou’s attacking principles, with Porro adept at tucking inside to disrupt the opposition shape.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
-
The result is that just these English words, representing just this original document, make for a new and somewhat undiscovered book, even to Marxist adepts.—
Benjamin Kunkel,
Harpers Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Imagine Jimi Hendrix also being a tuba virtuoso, or Andy Warhol also excelling on an Etch-A-Sketch.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
28 May 2025
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Dissatisfied with the quality of the day’s commercial recordings, Paul, who’d worked with pop stars including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, and was a guitar virtuoso and bandleader, endeavored to push the practice forward — to make recording a kind of erudite art form.—
Erin Osmon,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
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The Spanish-style stucco buildings with clay tile roofs are home to more than 80 artists and over 20 galleries.—
Anne Roderique-Jones,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2025
-
Users gameplay as an avatar based on the artist and are rewarded with collectible items.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
24 May 2025
Noun
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The pop-up also included an in-person Transform discussion with health guru Jay Shetty and an athletic wear shop featuring their latest Form Athletics Collection, which goes live on their website today.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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That elite quintet consisted of domestic policy advisor Bruce Reed, chief strategist Mike Donilon, legislative affairs guru Steve Ricchetti and chief of staff Ron Klain, each of whom had deep ties to Biden.—
Leigh Haber,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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