1
Core quality
Highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
Example
She is adept at translating technical ideas for general readers.
adept
/əˈdept/ · uh-DEPTadjective
Highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
Use adept to express this relationship precisely: highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
What adept Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The adept negotiator found a compromise quickly.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
Young birds become adept fliers through practice.
Use adept Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
She is adept at translating technical ideas for general readers.
The adept negotiator found a compromise quickly.
Young birds become adept fliers through practice.
Precision Matters
Adept overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
adept
vs.Means highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
ineffectual
Means failing to produce the intended or desired effect.
adept
vs.Means highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
meticulous
Means extremely careful and precise.
adept
vs.Means highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
intuitive
Means understood or known readily through instinct or immediate perception rather than deliberate reasoning.
adept
vs.Means highly skilled, proficient, or effective at performing a particular activity.
adroit
Means clever, skilful, and effective in handling a difficult task or situation.
Test adept in Context
He is highly skilled at the task.
1
Because he could identify tiny variations that others missed, the conservator was especially ___ at detecting forged signatures.