workmanlike
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
workmanlike (comparative more workmanlike, superlative most workmanlike)
- Resembling or characteristic of a workman.
- 1957, Neville Shute, chapter 3, in On the Beach[1], New York: William Morrow & Co:
- She was dressed in khaki, khaki slacks and khaki shirt, practical and workmanlike.
- Done competently but without flair.
- 1959 February, A. G. Dunbar, “The "Dunalastair I" 4-4-0s of the Caledonian”, in Trains Illustrated, page 85:
- In appearance the new 4-4-0s were magnificent engines for the period in which they were built; the boiler, bulging over the typical Drummond splasher, gave the engine a sturdy, workmanlike look, and the blue livery enhanced a picture of sleek, powerful, efficiency.
- 1999, Andrew Graham-Dixon, A History of British Art, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 120:
- Even his most matter-of-fact, workmanlike paintings are charged with an entirely personal morbidity.
- 2002, Tom Friedman, Germano Celant, Fondazione Prada (Milan, Italy), Mario Perniola, Tom Friedman, Progetto Prada Arte
- The tandem arrangement does not misuse Close, for he has gotten decades of acclaim for a tedious, workmanlike art.
- 2014, Scott Winfield Sublett, Screenwriting for Neurotics: A Beginner's Guide to Writing a Feature-Length Screenplay from Start to Finish, University of Iowa Press, →ISBN, page 190:
- Clear, workmanlike prose will do fine, and polishing up the prose is for the second draft.
- 2023 September 13, Gary Shteyngart, “Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson review – arrested development”, in The Guardian[2], →ISSN:
- Isaacson comes from the “his eyes lit up” school of cliched writing, the rest of his prose workmanlike bordering on AI.
- Performed with the skill of an artisan or craftsman. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Coordinate terms[edit]
References[edit]
- “workmanlike”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.