dilettante 1 of 2

dilettante

2 of 2

noun

1
as in tinkerer
a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a pastime rather than as a profession a dilettante at heart, she was never willing to commit the time and effort that ballet demands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in scholar
dated a person having a knowledgeable and fine appreciation of the arts she writes about art not from the point of view of an artist but from that of a committed dilettante

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun dilettante differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of dilettante are amateur, dabbler, and tyro. While all these words mean "a person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status," dilettante may apply to the lover of an art rather than its skilled practitioner but usually implies elegant trifling in the arts and an absence of serious commitment.

had no patience for dilettantes

When would amateur be a good substitute for dilettante?

Although the words amateur and dilettante have much in common, amateur often applies to one practicing an art without mastery of its essentials; in sports it may also suggest not so much lack of skill but avoidance of direct remuneration.

a painting obviously done by an amateur
remained an amateur despite lucrative offers

When is it sensible to use dabbler instead of dilettante?

The words dabbler and dilettante are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dabbler suggests desultory habits of work and lack of persistence.

a dabbler who started novels but never finished them

Where would tyro be a reasonable alternative to dilettante?

The meanings of tyro and dilettante largely overlap; however, tyro implies inexperience often combined with audacity with resulting crudeness or blundering.

shows talent but is still a mere tyro

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dilettante
Noun
Under the impression that Tom is good friends with his son, Dickie Greenleaf, a trust-fund dilettante who has decided to live in Italy to paint and dillydally instead of working with his father as planned, Mr. Greenleaf offers Tom money to go to Italy and convince the playboy to come home. Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2024 An even simpler reason is that Trump is a vain, distractible dilettante. Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024 By then, the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot had gained a reputation as an academic dilettante. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024 Efforts to put in additional safeguards proved unsuccessful, however, and Circle would sell the exchange to a consortium of Asian investors, including crypto dilettante Justin Sun, amid a cloud of regulatory uncertainty just a year later for a loss of $156 million. Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 6 Sep. 2023 See All Example Sentences for dilettante
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilettante
Noun
  • President Donald Trump’s national security team has looked like a pack of amateurs.
    Debra J. Saunders, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Fifty years into a storied career, the call is the call of an amateur.
    Joshua Dubler, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Legal scholars have said there is little legal precedent for Trump's war on Big Law, which has created a chilling effect across the legal community, and most will certainly have a chilling effect on his opponents who will need legal representation against him.
    Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 29 Mar. 2025
  • On top of that, the Trump administration has detained some international scholars who have expressed support for Palestinian causes or criticized Israel over the war in Gaza.
    Tinbete Ermyas, NPR, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The best Amazon coffee makers are high quality and cater to everyone from connoisseurs to brewing newbies.
    Sarah Madaus, Architectural Digest, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Here are the top games to watch that should make bracket connoisseurs nervous. 4 Texas A&M vs. 13 Yale, 7:25 pm EST Most people filling out brackets wait until the 5-12 matchup to pick first-round upsets, but sometimes an even lower seed is able to pull off an upset.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • There are not nearly as many nights left (about 20 in all) as Bacharach devotees from areas that are being bypassed might wish.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Mar. 2025
  • The Sleep Foundation, confirms what devotees have long experienced: satin's non-absorbent properties create a protective barrier that preserves skin's natural moisture balance throughout the night.
    Pooja Shah, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dilettante.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilettante. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

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