Vocabulary

vir·tu·o·so

vir·tu·o·so

\-ˈō-(ˌ)sō, -(ˌ)zō\

noun

: a person who does something in a veryskillful way ; especially : a very skillfulmusician

Full Definition

1 : an experimenter or investigator especiallyin the arts and sciences : savant2 : one skilled in or having a taste for the finearts3 : one who excels in the technique of an art;especially : a highly skilled musical performer(as on the violin)4 : a person who has great skill at someendeavor <a computer virtuoso>

Other forms: plural vir·tu·o·sos orvir·tu·o·si\-(ˌ)sē, -(ˌ)zē\

vir·tu·o·sic \-ˈō-sik, -zik\ adjectivevirtuoso adjective

Examples

a violin virtuoso

Origin: Italian, from virtuoso, adjective,virtuous, skilled, from Late Latin virtuosusvirtuous, from Latin virtus.

First use: 1651

Synonyms: ace, adept, artist, authority,cognoscente, connoisseur, crackerjack (alsocrackajack), dab [chiefly British], dab hand [chiefly British], fiend, geek, guru, hand,hotshot, maestro, master, maven (also mavin),meister, past master, proficient, scholar, shark,sharp, expert, whiz, wizard

Antonyms: amateur, inexpert, nonexpert