skilful

skilful — adjective

1. having the natural or practised ability to carry out a particular activity with

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having the natural or practised ability to carry out a particular activity with great ease and good results, usually because you have spent time learning or doing it

Example

Wren is a skilful photographer who turns ordinary streets into works of art.

skilful + noun describing a person's role

After years of practice, Emre has become skilful at repairing old clocks.

skilful at + gerund (the activity)

Common collocations
  • skilful at (doing something)
  • skilful with (something/someone)
  • skilful in (an area)
  • skilful player
  • skilful politician
  • skilful negotiator
  • skilful artist
  • skilful driver
  • skilful hands
Synonyms
  • skilled

    more about training or qualifications; a skilled electrician has passed exams, while a skilful electrician works with practised ease

  • proficient

    suggests meeting a measurable standard rather than natural mastery; more formal

  • adept

    suggests quick understanding and cleverness, often with a new or unusual task

  • accomplished

    suggests polished, refined ability recognised by others; implies breadth (accomplished in several areas)

  • expert

    the highest level — deep theoretical knowledge combined with practical mastery

Antonyms
  • unskilful

    the direct opposite; lacking practice or natural ability

  • clumsy

    awkward in movement or handling; lacks the ease that skilful implies

  • inept

    uncomfortably bad at something; harsher than clumsy

Grammar Patterns

skilful at + noun/gerund (the activity)

skilful with + noun (the tool, material, or type of person)

skilful in + noun/gerund (formal, the area of work)

Usage Note

Frequently used with the prepositions at (naming the skill or activity), with (naming the tool, material, or type of person handled), or in (more formal, naming an area of expertise). In informal British English, very can replace highly as the intensifier: a very skilful player.

Common Mistakes

She is very skilful in playing piano.
She is very skilful at playing the piano.
for specific activities, skilful at is the standard pattern; skilful in is reserved for broader fields (skilful in diplomacy).
He is a skilful cooker.
He is a skilful cook.
cook is the person; cooker is the kitchen appliance.

2. produced, performed, or constructed with noticeable care and a high degree of ab

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

produced, performed, or constructed with noticeable care and a high degree of ability, so that the result has a clear quality that others can admire

Example

The film's skilful editing kept viewers on the edge of their seats.

skilful + noun for describing a crafted work

Lukas admired the skilful design of the wooden bridge in the park.

Common collocations
  • skilful use of
  • skilful handling of
  • skilful editing
  • skilful design
  • skilful management
  • skilful blend
  • skilful mix
  • skilful piece of work
  • skilful performance
Synonyms
  • masterly

    suggests the confident work of a true expert; more emphatic than skilful

  • polished

    suggests refinement and attention to finish; less about raw ability and more about presentation

  • expert

    conveys authority and high professional standard; stronger than skilful

Antonyms
  • clumsy

    awkward or poorly executed

  • amateurish

    lacking the polish that comes from experience

  • crude

    rough and lacking refinement

Grammar Patterns

skilful + noun (the work or result)

skilful + use/handling/editing/design of + noun

Usage Note

Describes a product, performance, or outcome — not the person who produced it. The person behind the result is covered by sense 1. Common in reviews and commentaries about creative or professional work.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Skilful, skilled, expert, proficient, adept, and accomplished all describe a person's ability, but they emphasise different aspects. Skilful foregrounds practised ease — someone who has done something many times and now does it well without effort. Skilled points to formal training or certification (a skilled carpenter has completed an apprenticeship). Expert is the strongest term, combining deep knowledge with practical mastery. Proficient suggests meeting a recognised standard (proficient in Japanese at N3 level). Adept implies natural cleverness and quick understanding, often for hands-on or improvised tasks. Accomplished carries a social sense of polished, refined ability acknowledged by peers or audiences. A tennis player who is skilful wins club matches through hours of practice; a proficient player has passed a grading exam; an expert player competes at national tournaments.

skilled ↗expert ↗proficient ↗adept ↗accomplished ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Etymology

Old NorseMiddle EnglishEnglish

Skilful comes from the noun skill, which entered Middle English around the 1100s from Old Norse skil (meaning 'distinction, discernment, or reason'). The Old Norse root skilja meant 'to separate, distinguish, or understand' — the idea being that a skilful person can separate what matters from what does not. The suffix -ful turns the noun into an adjective meaning 'full of skill'. The spelling skilful (with one l) is standard in British English; American English uses skillful (with double l).