adept

adept — adjective

1. very capable at carrying out a task that calls for practice, training, or quick

1.形容詞C1
釋義

very capable at carrying out a task that calls for practice, training, or quick judgement, often in a way that looks effortless to others.

例句

Mei is adept at calming nervous patients before surgery.

adept at + -ing/noun: name a skill area

The young goalkeeper is adept at reading where the striker will shoot.

adept at + reading/spotting: noticing patterns

同義詞
  • skilled

    more neutral and far more common; works without a preposition.

  • proficient

    stresses meeting a competent standard; often pairs with 'in'.

  • deft

    highlights physical or verbal nimbleness rather than overall competence.

  • skillful

    general praise; lacks the slightly bookish tone of 'adept'.

反義詞
  • inept

    direct opposite — clumsy or hopeless at the task.

  • clumsy

    focuses on awkward physical movement rather than overall ability.

文法句型

adept at + noun/-ing

adept in + noun

用法筆記

Almost always paired with 'at' or 'in'; standalone use ('she is adept') sounds incomplete to most readers. 'At' is far more common and pairs with both nouns and -ing forms; 'in' is rarer and prefers a field, area, or place.

常見錯誤

❌She is adept to fix bicycles.
✅She is adept at fixing bicycles.
💡use 'at' + -ing form, not 'to' + base verb.
❌He is adept of computer code.
✅He is adept at computer code.
💡the preposition is 'at' (or 'in'), never 'of'.

adept — noun