Both these words are adjectives and have related meanings. Adept has only one basic meaning: thoroughly proficient. Apt, however, has a number of meanings, including unusually fitted or qualified; suited to a purpose; and keenly intelligent and responsive as well as likely to (the two-year-old is apt to throw a tantrum if he doesn’t get what he wants.)
INCORRECT: He is an adept student but has a long way to go before reaching proficiency.
CORRECT: He is an apt student but has a long way to go before reaching proficiency.
ACCEPTABLE: She is an apt chess player. She has won the national championship two years in a row.
BETTER: She is an adept chess player. She has won the national championship two years in a row.
ALSO CORRECT: Tyrone is an apt piano student. If he keeps improving at this rate, he is apt to become an adept pianist within a few years.
REMEMBER: The word adept is longer than the word apt, and it takes longer to become an expert at something than it does to attain a novice level of proficiency. And expert is a direct synonym for adept.
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