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Prolific vs Proficient - What's the difference?

prolific | proficient |

As adjectives the difference between prolific and proficient

is that prolific is fertile, producing offspring or fruit in abundance — applied to plants producing fruit, animals producing young, etc while proficient is good at; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.

As a noun proficient is

an expert.

prolific

English

Alternative forms

* prolifick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Fertile, producing offspring or fruit in abundance — applied to plants producing fruit, animals producing young, etc.
  • Similarly producing results or works in abundance
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=September 7 , author=Dominic Fifield , title=England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=The most obvious beneficiary of the visitors' superiority was Frank Lampard. By the end of the night he was perched 13th in the list of England's most prolific goalscorers, having leapfrogged Sir Geoff Hurst to score his 24th and 25th international goals. No other player has managed more than the Chelsea midfielder's 11 in World Cup qualification ties, with this a display to roll back the years.}}

    Synonyms

    * fertile * (fertile, producing offspring or fruit in abundance) fecund * (producing results or works in abundance) See also

    Derived terms

    * prolificacy * prolifically * prolificity * prolificness

    References

    *

    proficient

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Good at; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.
  • He was a proficient writer with an interest in human nature.
  • * 1912 : (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (Tarzan of the Apes), Chapter 5
  • By constant playing and experimenting with these he learned to tie rude knots, and make sliding nooses; and with these he and the younger apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they tried to do also, but he alone originated and became proficient .

    Synonyms

    * (good at) skilled, fluent, practiced

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An expert.
  • Synonyms

    * (expert) expert; see also