masterful

«masterful» in Mova's school dictionary: Showing great skill: «a masterful performance» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (masterful; more masterful, most masterful)

meaning for a pupil

1) Showing great skill: «a masterful performance». tree →

2) Strong, sure and in control, liking to give orders: «a masterful manner». tree →

sense in the lessons

In sports, music and art lessons a masterful performance is excellent. In stories a masterful character takes charge; in The Wind in the Willows Badger is masterful when he takes charge of Toad, and Toad likes to think of himself as a masterful driver.

examples

• The pianist gave a masterful performance. tree →
• Badger spoke in a masterful voice and Toad obeyed. tree →
• She scored a masterful goal. tree →
• The captain had a masterful way of giving orders. tree →
• The book is a masterful story of friendship. tree →
• Toad imagined himself a masterful motorist. tree →

note

Two senses: very skilful, and bossy/commanding. Some people use «masterly» only for skilful and «masterful» for commanding, but both are used for skill today. Adverb: masterfully.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «masterful» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.