Word Finder - skill

definition

Capacity to do something well; technique, ability. Skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate.

synonyms

• ability
• talent

definition

Discrimination; judgment; propriety; reason; cause.

definition

Knowledge; understanding.

definition

Display of art; exercise of ability; contrivance; address.

definition

Great, excellent.

We have the skill and the strategy.

Darkyn's lie detector skill gave Deidre a tingling at the base of her skull that she took to be a red flag.

He had no sense of his own mortality and fighting skill that rivaled Xander's.

It's a good skill to have right about now.

If he ever thought of Helene, it was just of her beauty and her remarkable skill in appearing silently dignified in society.

The blond moved with the same purpose and skill, leaving her confused.

He is as right as other historians who look for the explanation of historic events in the will of one man; he is as right as the Russian historians who maintain that Napoleon was drawn to Moscow by the skill of the Russian commanders.

He is picked for his skill in playing to the jack.

Your skill makes it easier for you.

You'll have to develop some skill in reading people if you want to make this a business.

Amplified by magic, Yully's fighting skill was inhuman.

Marsyas found it, and having acquired great skill in playing it, challenged Apollo to a contest with his lyre.

Every day in imagination I made a trip round the world, and I saw many wonders from the uttermost parts of the earth--marvels of invention, treasuries of industry and skill and all the activities of human life actually passed under my finger tips.

The only thing she does which requires skill with the hands is her work on the typewriter.

Bonaparte selected his ministers with much skill.

On the other hand, the domestic industries are extensively carried on and exhibit a high degree of technical skill and artistic taste.

The reduction of that stronghold was largely due to his energy and skill.

Their policy was carried out with consummate skill and caution.

Such skill as nurses possessed was picked up in the wards.

But even with all their skill and care, while the carbon-content is still high the indications.

The great merit of this system is the skill.

Now, I say there is nothing more dangerous and disadvantageous to the buyer than land so left waste and out of heart; and therefore Cato counsels well to purchase land of one who has managed it well, and not rashly to despise and make light of the skill and knowledge of another."

The work on agriculture' of Ibn-al-Awam, who lived in the 12th century A.D., treats of the varieties of soils, manuring, irrigation, ploughing, sowing, harvesting, stock, horticulture, arboriculture and plant diseases, and is a lasting record of their skill and industry.

His historical research was exemplified in his De antiquitate ecclesiae, and his editions of Asser, Matthew Paris, Walsingham, and the compiler known as Matthew of Westminster; his liturgical skill was shown in his version of the psalter and in the occasional prayers and thanksgivings which he was called upon to compose; and he left a priceless collection of manuscripts to his college at Cambridge.

Napoleon's father at first sided with Paoli, but after the disaster of Ponte-Novo he went over to the conquerors, and thereafter solicited places for himself and for his sons with a skill and persistence which led to a close union between the Bonapartes and France.

The vigour and tactical skill of Bonaparte contributed very largely to the success of the troops of the Convention over the Parisian malcontents on the famous day of 1 3 Vendemiaire (October 5th, 1795), when the defenders of the Convention, sweeping the quays and streets near the Tuilleries by artillery and musketry, soon paralysed the movement at its headquarters, the church of St Roch.

The situation was saved solely by the skill of his brother Lucien, then president of the Council.

But before referring to this last proof of the Machiavellian skill of the great Corsican in dealing with plots, it is needful to notice the events which brought him into collision with the British nation.

Opinions were divided in the emperor's circle between a Russian and an Austrian princess; but the marked coolness with which overtures for the hand of the tsar's sister were received at St Petersburg, and the skill with which Count Metternich, the Austrian chancellor, let it be known that a union with the archduchess, Marie Louise, would be welcomed at Schonbrunn, helped to decide the matter.

Moreover, whatever the lovers of the fine arts may say, it is nearly certain that the " Bewick Collector " is mistaken in attaching so high a value to these old editions, for owing to the want of skill in printing - indifferent ink being especially assigned as one cause - many of the earlier issues fail to show the most delicate touches of the engraver, which the increased care bestowed upon the edition of 1847 (published under the supervision of John Hancock) has revealed - though it must be admitted that certain blocks have suffered from wear of the press so as to be incapable of any more producing the effect intended.

The plates in this last are by Barraband, for many years regarded as the perfection of ornithological artists, and indeed the figures, when they happen to have been drawn from the life, are not bad; but his skill was quite unable to vivify the preserved specimens contained in museums, and when he had only these as subjects he simply copied the distortions of the " bird-stuffier."

Robert Boyle, who turned his skill to account in the construction of his air-pump. On the 12th of November 1662 he was appointed curator of experiments to the Royal Society, of which he was elected a fellow in 1663, and filled the office during the remainder of his life.

Nurhachu played with skill and daring the role which had been played by Jenghiz Khan more than three centuries before in Mongolia.

Still more important perhaps was the fact that the ports of the kingdom attracted the Italian towns; and it was therefore to the kingdom that they lent the strength of their armies and the skill of their siege-artillery - in return, it is true, for concessions of privileges so considerable as to weaken the resources of the kingdom they helped to create.

He was wanting in mathematical ability, and never displayed in any remarkable degree the still more important power of scientific generalization, which, whether accompanied by mathematical skill or not, never fails to mark the highest genius in physical science.

It was chiefly owing to his skill and courage as a parliamentary debater and his tact as a leader that the party held its own and constantly increased in numbers during the great struggle with the Prussian government.

The making of soft soap, although thus a much less complex process than hard soap making, is one that demands much skill and experience for its success.

Wise, prudent and conservative, Gallatin made few changes in Hamilton's arrangements, and for twelve years administered the national finances with the greatest skill.

Her generals and admirals, Conon, Iphicrates, Chabrias, Timotheus, distinguished themselves by their military skill, and partially recovered their country's predominance in the Aegean, which found expression in the temporary renewal of the Delian League.

Many of the tribes that had least intercourse with the Chinese show a considerable amount of skill in the arts of civilization.

The advance of the Americans had been rapid and decisive, with a small loss of life - three killed and forty wounded - due to the skill with which the military manoeuvres were planned and executed and the cordial welcome given the invaders by the inhabitants.

The most interesting feature of his work is the skill with which he pictures the leading figures of his time.

This is due as much to the inspiriting teachings of Ritter and Humboldt as to the general culture and scientific training combined with technical skill commanded by the men who more especially devote themselves to this branch of geography, which elsewhere is too frequently allowed to fall into the hands of mere mechanics.

In his Urgeschichte der germanischen and romanischen Volker (Berlin, 1881-1890), Dahn went a step farther back still, but here as in his Geschichte der deutschen Urzeit (Gotha, 1883-1888), a wealth of picturesque detail has been worked over and resolved into history with such imagiRative insight and critical skill as to make real and present the indistinct beginnings of German society.

With zeal for the faith, and boldness and energy, he combined diplomatic skill in his dealings with his exalted protectors.

His pleasant manners and varied culture, not less than his artistic skill, contributed to render him popular.

His full-length of Lady Mary Coke is remarkable for the skill and delicacy with which the white satin drapery is managed; while in the portrait of his brown-eyed wife, the eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick, in the Scottish National Gallery, we have a sweetness and tenderness which shows the painter at his highest.

The Ottoman Empire is renowned for its productiveness, but enterprise and skill in utilizing its capabilities are still greatly lacking.

The strength of the army lay in its infantry, for both cavalry and artillery were short of horses, and the latter had not yet acquired mobility and skill in manoeuvring.

The Thracians of the region from Olympus to the Pangaean district, usually regarded as rude tribes, had from a very early time worked the gold and silver of that region, had begun to strike coins almost as early as the Greeks, and displayed on them much artistic skill and originality of types.