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Neophyte is hardly a new addition to the English language—it's been part of the English vocabulary since the 14th century. It traces back through Late Latin to the Greek word neophytos, meaning "newly planted" or "newly converted." These Greek and Latin roots were directly transplanted into the early English uses of neophyte, which first referred to a person newly converted to a religion or cause. By the 1600s, neophyte had gained a more general sense of "a beginner or novice." Today you might consider it a formal elder sibling of such recent informal coinages as newbie and noob.
Examples of neophyte in a Sentence
New Atlas, 3 Apr. 2025
Mulaney’s four-wheeled friend needed no introduction for those who watched the bug-eyed apparatus develop into a full-fledged character last spring, but neophytes dropping in on a major launch from a worldwide streamer may have been left scratching their heads.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Mar. 2025
For a small entry fee, neophytes and experts alike can spend 10 days tromping through swamps trying to catch the most and largest pythons, with the chance to win a $10,000 first-place prize.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025
Like many of the men and women who worked on The Godfather, Mark and I were neophytes.
—airmail.news, 22 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Neophyte.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neophyte. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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neophyte
noun
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