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mas·ter·ful (măstər-fəl)
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adj.
1. Acting or capable of acting as a master or leader, especially in being domineering or imperious: "Do you agree with me that I have a right to be a little masterful, abrupt; perhaps exacting, sometimes" (Charlotte Brontë).
2. Having or showing mastery or skill; expert: a masterful technique; masterful at filmmaking.
master·ful·ly adv.
master·ful·ness n.
Usage Note: According to a widely repeated dictum, masterful should be reserved for the sense "imperious, domineering" (as in a masterful tone of voice), whereas masterly should be the choice when the intended sense is "having the skill of a master" (as in a masterly performance of the sonata). But in practice writers have been less heedful, and today masterful is well attested with the meaning "finely skilled." In fact, the word masterful is far more likely to occur before words like performance and ability than masterly is.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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