What is the difference between Masterful and Masterly?

What is the difference between Masterful and Masterly?                                                                 
Masterful and Masterly are commonly confused. You may confuse to the extent that you can use them as synonym. In this post, we shall try to eliminate all the confusions.

What is the meaning of masterful?
Masterful is an adjective. 
Someone masterful is good at a particular task or skill; a masterful singer can sings very well, a masterful house has great architecture, a masterful speaker can speak on any topic.

Masterful in sentence:

1. The Islamic State made masterful use of the Internet for recruitment.
2. He did a masterful job of escaping burning house.
3. The simpler the cut, therefore, the more masterful the garment.

What is the meaning of masterly?
Masterly is an adjective.
It means very skillful; showing great skill
If you describe something as masterly, you admire it because it has been done extremely well or shows the highest level of ability and skill.

Masterly in sentence:

1. Amitabh gives a masterly dance performance.
2. A masterly translation, the first into English by a female translator, matches Homer line by line and renders the story in clear, idiomatic language.

What is the difference between Masterful and Masterly?
Someone or something is masterful if someone or something beats, dominants others, or have supremo in a particular field. 
For examples:

1. Masterful Leonardo DiCaprio dominated the Hollywood.
2. A masterful Taj Mahal dominates other buildings.

Something can be masterly if it is done with a high level of skill.

Masterful means having, showing or revealing great skill.
Masterly means doing something with great skill.  

Masterful is used for how good something is or how expert someone is in a particular field, like masterful speaker.
Masterly is used for how something is done, like a masterly performance.

In a nutshell
Masterful means domineering.
Masterly means exhibiting mastery or great skill.

Common Error:

She gave the spectators a masterful performance.   ✘

She gave the spectators a masterly performance.     ✔

Prev. Post || Next Post

I have read some fantastic books on English language that really helped me improve my writing. You can buy my recommended books on Amazon. Here is the lists below:

Books on Grammar:

Books	Buy Links	Rating
The Elephants Of Style		4.5/5
English Grammar in Use Book		4.5/5
Practical English Usage		4.5/5
The Elements of Style		4.5/5
Essentials of English		4.5/5
Handbook of English Grammar and Usage		4.5/5
Woe Is I		4.5/5
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing		4.5/5
It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences.		4.5/5
If you want more books on English language, click the link