Revised as of
9 Dec 2022
A friend wanted to know the difference between masterful and masterly, so, why not . . .
Turns out, this pair of word confusions are opposites in that masterful is dark. Think dominant, controlling, an almost ruthlessly supreme alpha dog.
“The envoy’s masterful behavior irritated the citizens.”
Masterly is a positive identification of someone as highly skilled or accomplished, an incredible performance, a demonstration of mastery.
Naturally, many writers use masterful to convey the sense with the skill of a master. Oh, well . . .
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Masterful versus Masterly” interesting, consider tweeting it to your friends. Subscribe to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Masterful | Masterly |
|---|---|
Exposed Sublime Castle with Red Tower is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. — The castle certainly has a masterful position. |
Presentation and Schedule by Andy Piper is under the CC BY-ND 2.0 license, via Flickr. — A masterly presentation. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective | Adjective; Adverb |
| Powerful and able to control others
Performed or performing very skillfully Dominating
Having or showing the qualities of a master
Showing mastery or skill
|
Adjective: Performed or performing in a very skillful and accomplished way Like or befitting a master, as in skill or art
Adverb: With the skill of a master |
| Examples: | |
| Behind the lace and ruffles was a masterful woman.
It was a masterful assessment of the difficulties. He gave a masterful performance, and we didn’t believe a word of it. In other words, we know nothing about our deft and masterful artist except for his name. Still, the masterful tone and astonishingly sophisticated writing in this novel redeem a lot of the awkwardness. If India’s batting was masterful, their bowling in truly testing conditions was even more creditable. |
Adjective: His masterly account of rural France was absorbing. It was a masterly presentation of the budget. This is a masterly account: detailed but always readable, authoritative but strenuously objective. Apart from these two errors, the book is a masterly and worthy account of a crucial period in our history with excellent maps. Adverb: When playing the violin his masterly bowing technique was a joy to hear. “At length the sound of a flute broke upon mine ear; it was not played masterly, but the tones were very sweet; and what is more correct, perhaps, they harmonized with my feelings” (Flute-player). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: overmasterful Adverb: masterfully, overmasterfully Noun: masterfulness |
Noun: masterliness |
| History of the Word: | |
| First recorded in 1300–50, Middle English was first recorded before 900; Middle English maistre, maister, Old English magister, from the Latin and akin to magnus meaning great + -ful. | First recorded in 1375–1425, late Middle English was first recorded before 900; Middle English maistre, maister, Old English magister, from the Latin and akin to magnus meaning great + -ly. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Masterful versus Masterly
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: masterful, masterly
“The Flute-player. A Hint to the Discontented.” La Belle Assemblée; being Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine (New and Improved Series). V 17, No 106, London: John Bell, Jan 1818. OCLC 1125406586. Col 1, P 22.
Lexico.com: masterful, masterly
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Bank Holiday, 1911, is a painting by William Strang and was uploaded by Androstachys. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
