The skillful surgeon's steady hands and precise incisions reduced the patient's recovery time significantly.
这位灵巧的外科医生手稳、切口精准，显著缩短了病人的恢复时间。
Which choice best defines “skillful”?
D — Having or showing skill. “skillful” means having or showing skill.
Which word means “having or showing skill”?
A — skillful. “skillful” means having or showing skill.
skillful — having or showing skill. In Chinese: 灵巧的.
skillful is pronounced /ˈskɪlfəl/.
The skillful surgeon's steady hands and precise incisions reduced the patient's recovery time significantly. (这位灵巧的外科医生手稳、切口精准，显著缩短了病人的恢复时间。)
adept, proficient, expert — all close in meaning to skillful (having or showing skill).
clumsy, inept — each the opposite of skillful (having or showing skill).
Yes. skillful is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.