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proficient

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word proficient distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of proficient are adept, expert, skilled, and skillful. While all these words mean "having great knowledge and experience in a trade or profession," proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice.

proficient in translating foreign languages

When might adept be a better fit than proficient?

In some situations, the words adept and proficient are roughly equivalent. However, adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency.

adept at doing long division

When could expert be used to replace proficient?

The words expert and proficient can be used in similar contexts, but expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill.

expert in the evaluation of wines

In what contexts can skilled take the place of proficient?

The synonyms skilled and proficient are sometimes interchangeable, but skilled stresses mastery of technique.

a skilled surgeon

When is it sensible to use skillful instead of proficient?

While the synonyms skillful and proficient are close in meaning, skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance.

skillful drivers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of proficient
Adjective
As the size and complexity of solar assets increased, the provision of proficient O&M and asset management services became imperative for ensuring optimal performance. Joern Hackbarth, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 First, is the acknowledgment by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (the Kirwan Commission) that, per the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) 2021 assessment, only 35% of Grade 3-8 students are proficient in English, just 15% in math. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2025 Trump signed an executive order on April 28 reinforcing a federal law that requires commercial truck drivers to be proficient in English. Juan Carlos Chavez, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 May 2025 On the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment, a measure of nationwide reading progress, only 31% of fourth grade students scored proficient or above. Shawn Datchuk, The Conversation, 6 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for proficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proficient
Adjective
  • State government has made the education and training of skilled aerospace workers an important priority.
    Yogi Tharanibalan, Hartford Courant, 3 June 2025
  • The hope, Morrison said, was to encourage employers to bring in skilled workers via the permanent residency pathway, on the theory that immigrants with green cards would, by being on stronger footing, be less likely to undercut wages for Americans than guest workers did.
    Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 3 June 2025
Noun
  • 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
Adjective
  • These additional components underscore the importance of music, movement, libations, skillful presentation, and audience participation to masquerade more broadly.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025
  • Who lives and who dies depends on a slew of variable factors: Where they are tried, how skillful their attorneys are, the whims of prosecutors, quirks in the law, the dispositions of judges and jurors, and what victims want.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The Biden administration was caught off guard by the brief challenge to South Korea’s democracy, experts say, after the White House invested significant time to forge a landmark security partnership between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 3 June 2025
  • In recent years, some parents have sought out infant formula made in Europe with the belief that products made overseas are healthier options, experts said.
    Jonel Aleccia, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • Funds like the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF attracted massive inflows, yet many investors who entered late experienced disappointing returns once valuations normalized.
    Gianluca Sidoti, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
  • Again, this isn't a conventional model rocket so experienced rocketeers might scoff at it.
    Ian Stokes, Space.com, 23 May 2025
Noun
  • The master artisan will also assemble an accessory from the BADURA high leather goods collection, deftly using his hands as tools honed through decades of proficiency and techniques steeped in centuries-old traditions.
    Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
  • Skills build on themselves, so children who don’t master kindergarten phonics or counting could remain behind in future grades.
    Claire Cain Miller, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • And the collaboration the Archive Center most prioritizes is with Native communities themselves, providing reference services to community members, scholars and the general public.
    Nathan Pugh, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Proficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proficient. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

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