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
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
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
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
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
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
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
-
Multiple rights experts and scholars say Israel's military assault on Gaza amounts to genocide.—
Jarrett Renshaw,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Bond yields are shaped in part by expectations of the benchmark interest rate set by the Fed, some experts said.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Merging with Teck will almost certainly be the master stroke in removing it from any plans by BHP to return with a fresh offer for Anglo American.—
Tim Treadgold,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Moreover, Southern bakers have been perfecting this treat for generations, and our recipe masters the most classic version, staying largely the same since its first appearances in our annual Southern Living cookbooks as early as the 1960s and 1970s.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Multiple rights experts and scholars say Israel's military assault on Gaza amounts to genocide.—
Jarrett Renshaw,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
An outer wall of the exhibit includes commentary through the centuries from great poets and scholars about the awe-inspiring site.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Quantrill, like other prominent Confederates such as the Ku Klux Klan’s first grand wizard, Nathan Bedford Forrest, was mythologized by Confederate sympathizers.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
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Released in 2004, the film follows Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, who finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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An effective trustee is skilled in conflict resolution and adept at maintaining open communication while prioritizing the trust’s objectives.—
Royce Ramey,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
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
Noun
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MetLiveArts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s performing arts series, will kick off its 2025-2026 season tomorrow night with a program featuring pipa virtuoso Wu Man.—
Jane Levere,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Jorge Luis Pacheco takes the Break room stage Saturday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. Hailing from Havana, Cuba, Pacheco is a virtuoso pianist, singer, composer, percussionist and arranger.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The organization's mission includes creating opportunities for artists of all ages and backgrounds, Jordan told gala guests.—
Carin Schoppmeyer,
Arkansas Online,
14 Sep. 2025
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Guided in part by virtual world building sessions hosted by the organization in which the public was invited to imagine a future where reparations as a policy has already happened and given way to a culture of repair, six leading Afrofuturist artists envision 2165 Earth.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Filming is underway in Colombia on bilingual political thriller White, a feature about Indian guru Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s role in Colombia’s peace process.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
9 Sep. 2025
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Nuno’s remarks came after The Athletic reported a row with Edu, the club’s transfer guru and Arsenal’s former sporting director, was at the heart of his disillusionment.—
Dan Cancian,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Past master.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past%20master. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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