professional 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of professionalnext
1
as in technical
having or showing trained ability in a particular field of knowledge Many of the applicants lacked the professional experience the job required. She had always dreamed of becoming a professional boxer.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in civil
in a serious and polite manner She found his presentation informative and his delivery quite professional. Employees were expected to act in a professional manner when dealing with potential customers.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

professional

2 of 2

noun

as in specialist
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field If you want the job done right, you really should hire a professional.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 professional
Adjective
It's being particularly pushed for professional certificates and graduate degrees. — Jon Marcus, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025 The Fordham University at Lincoln Center student currently plays Imogen in the Broadway production of & Juliet, all while juggling the rigorous demands of being a college sophomore and a professional dancer. — Tereza Shkurtaj, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Noun
As a child, he was surrounded by professionals involved with the institute who were PhDs, lawyers and doctors, so his parents were skeptical about his choice to make music for a living, the singer recalled to CBS News in May 2022. — Ilana Frost, People.com, 16 Mar. 2025 The avalanche at Tunnel Creek in the Cascade Mountains involved a large group of ski industry professionals and resulted in three brutal fatalities. — Ashley Thess, Outdoor Life, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for professional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for professional
  1. technical
  2. civil
  3. specialist
  4. specialized
  5. respectable
  6. consultant
  7. skilled
  8. businesslike
Adjective
  • There’s also the issue known as compatibility, where many drivers are finding their batteries are not being charged because of technical incompatibility between their vehicles and some public charging stations.
    — Ed Garsten, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Newsmax attorneys also made a technical argument that Dominion has sued the wrong company.
    — Maddy Lauria, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025
Definition of technical
Adjective
  • Thankfully, there’s already a bug report open on Implicit Conversions’ Discord server about this cross-save issue, so by all means, contribute in a suitably civil fashion about it. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Despite clear evidence of misconduct, company leaders ignored the behavior, according to the Department of Justice civil settlement agreement.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of civil
Noun
  • Teixeira, who worked as an information technology specialist, was convicted last year on federal charges, pleading guilty to six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Today, architecture is fragmented—specialists handle concept, structure, costing, and analysis separately with few practitioners specialising in multiple fields.
    — Kissa Castaneda, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of specialist
Adjective
  • This type of workout can be done independently or using a specialized piece of equipment called a reformer.
    — Tim Petrie, DPT, Verywell Health, 18 Mar. 2025
  • To fill this gap, the H-1B visa program, established in 1990, has been pivotal, allowing U.S. businesses to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialized fields.
    — DeLon Thornton, CNBC, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of specialized
Adjective
  • Collecting old art was posh and respectable, but in an America still scandalized by the sight of breasts, collecting modern art was outrageous.
    — Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025
  • The ThinkCentre's display isn't the brightest but matches the IdeaCentre in color coverage, with respectable results for Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 despite not being designed for creative-focused tasks.
    — PCMAG, PCMAG, 4 Mar. 2025
Definition of respectable
Noun
  • Lisa Miller, former deputy insurance commissioner who is now a consultant, told the Sun Sentinel that requiring transparency reports for rates would not make premiums more understandable to consumers.
    — Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Huntsman School of Business professor Timothy Gardner and consultant Colin Wong explain these tactics, like sandbagging, falsifying data, and giving excessive discounts to close deals.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 18 Mar. 2025
Definition of consultant
Adjective
  • The loss of this skilled support would place a greater burden on active-duty soldiers, who are not trained for many of these back-end roles.
    — Solange Charas, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Hurley said postgame that Florida’s roster construction — especially the Gators’ skilled two-way bigs and glut of perimeter threats — reminded him of his own rosters, at least for most of the past three seasons.
    — Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025
Definition of skilled
Adjective
  • Ovechkin was fairly businesslike in discussing his latest goal, which occurred a day shy of the 19th anniversary of him reaching 40 goals for the first time.
    — Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Jenner finished off the businesslike look with black trousers, loafers with white socks, and black sunglasses.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2025
Definition of businesslike

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Cite this Entry

“Professional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/professional. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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