dilettante
noun
dil·et·tante ˈdi-lə-ˌtänt 
-ˌtant;
ˌdi-lə-ˈtänt,
-ˈtant
plural dilettantes or dilettanti ˌdi-lə-ˈtän-tē
-ˈtan-tē
1
: a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge : dabbler
Mr. Carroll often criticizes the superficial lives of the dilettantes … who mingle in New York.
Mark Stevens
Mark StevensWhitman ran an amateurish campaign … and was painted as an aristocratic dilettante. Eleanor Clift
Eleanor Clift2
dated : an admirer or lover of the arts
It was unparalleled, undreamed-of, that I, Humphrey Van Weyden, a scholar and a dilettante, if you please, in things artistic and literary, should be lying here on a Bering Sea seal-hunting schooner. Jack London
Jack London dilettante adjective
dilettantish
ˈdi-lə-ˌtän-tish
adjective -ˌtan-
ˌdi-lə-ˈtän-
-ˈtan-
dilettantism
ˈdi-lə-ˌtän-ˌti-zəm
noun -ˌtan-
ˌdi-lə-ˈtän -ˈtan-
Synonyms
- amateur
- dabbler
- hobbyist
- layman
- nonexpert
- nonprofessional
- potterer
- putterer
- tinkerer
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
I recently spent a week in Alaska trying to learn how to be a mountaineer. I did not succeed very well, and the details are not very interesting. I finished the course (I was enrolled in a course) thinking that perhaps I am better off remaining a slightly-above-average mountain dilettante. An occasional rock climber. Jason Lee Steorts, National Review, 18 Aug. 2008 Being a powerhouse herself in ways that make today's feminist superwomen look like dilettantes, she inevitably clashed with star directors like Maurice Tourneur and Ernst Lubitsch. Molly Haskell, New York Times Book Review, 6 June 1999 Most of the articles published in Naval History reflect time-consuming research and investigation. The efforts are not the work of dilettantes, but of professional and semiprofessional historians. Michael M. Bergfeld, Naval History, July/August 1997 You can always tell a true expert from a dilettante. she writes about art not from the point of view of an artist but from that of a committed dilettante
Jason Lee Steorts, National Review, 18 Aug. 2008 Being a powerhouse herself in ways that make today's feminist superwomen look like dilettantes, she inevitably clashed with star directors like Maurice Tourneur and Ernst Lubitsch. Molly Haskell, New York Times Book Review, 6 June 1999 Most of the articles published in Naval History reflect time-consuming research and investigation. The efforts are not the work of dilettantes, but of professional and semiprofessional historians. Michael M. Bergfeld, Naval History, July/August 1997 You can always tell a true expert from a dilettante. she writes about art not from the point of view of an artist but from that of a committed dilettante Recent Examples on the Web The commanding officer of the fort is an inept dilettante played by Ken Berry. Matt Schudel, Washington Post, 9 July 2022 Over the past year or so, the viral moments mocking Disney adults keep accumulating, piling one on top of the other like a twentysomething dilettante’s LSAT prep books. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2022 Any dilettante with money can buy a mixer and auto beat match their way into the dance world. Katie Bain, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2022 Long before that, Scaife had lived the life of a dilettante. Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 15 Dec. 2021 Critics derided him throughout as a rich dilettante seeking to buy a seat in Congress. Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2021 Arne, a professor on summer holiday with his family, is friends with Egil, a dilettante who has experienced a recent religious breakthrough. Brandon Taylor, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2021 Witchcraft, real or imagined, has become a somewhat trendy tack among writers turning over the legacies of patriarchy, but Blakemore is no dilettante here. Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2021 None of these dilettante candidates has held public office, and none of them is willing to start at the beginning in local politics. Nicholas Goldberg, Star Tribune, 9 July 2021 See More
Matt Schudel, Washington Post, 9 July 2022 Over the past year or so, the viral moments mocking Disney adults keep accumulating, piling one on top of the other like a twentysomething dilettante’s LSAT prep books. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2022 Any dilettante with money can buy a mixer and auto beat match their way into the dance world. Katie Bain, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2022 Long before that, Scaife had lived the life of a dilettante. Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 15 Dec. 2021 Critics derided him throughout as a rich dilettante seeking to buy a seat in Congress. Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2021 Arne, a professor on summer holiday with his family, is friends with Egil, a dilettante who has experienced a recent religious breakthrough. Brandon Taylor, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2021 Witchcraft, real or imagined, has become a somewhat trendy tack among writers turning over the legacies of patriarchy, but Blakemore is no dilettante here. Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2021 None of these dilettante candidates has held public office, and none of them is willing to start at the beginning in local politics. Nicholas Goldberg, Star Tribune, 9 July 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Italian, from present participle of dilettare to delight, from Latin dilectare — more at delight
First Known Use
1748, in the meaning defined at sense 2
dilettante 1 of 2
adjective
as in amateur
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill many dilettante efforts could be seen at the sidewalk art show Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- amateur
- inexperienced
- dilettantish
- amateurish
- unskilled
- inexpert
- unprofessional
- nonprofessional
- incompetent
- unskillful
- awkward
- jackleg
- unfinished
- unschooled
- new
- unprepared
- clumsy
- untutored
- untrained
- untaught
- unqualified
- curbstone
- uninitiated
- self-taught
- primitive
- defective
- flawed
- unpolished
- ham-fisted
- beginning
- unfit
- untalented
- fresh
- ham-handed
- untried
- incapable
- faulty
- green
- crude
- talentless
- unseasoned
- untested
- would-be
- unable
- heavy-handed
- ungifted
- entry-level
- raw
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- professional
- expert
- adept
- virtuoso
- skilled
- consummate
- competent
- ace
- master
- capable
- skillful
- virtuosic
- proficient
- talented
- masterly
- able
- gifted
- handsome
- dextrous
- masterful
- veteran
- dexterous
- accomplished
- seasoned
- experienced
- crackerjack
- knowledgeable
- practised
- habile
- qualified
- taught
- educated
- prepared
- trained
- practiced
- initiated
- schooled
- versed
- versatile
- ambidextrous
- fitted
- polished
- slick
- tutored
- finished
- all-round
- all-around
- well-rounded
dilettante
2 of 2noun
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
- amateur
- tinkerer
- dabbler
- hobbyist
- layman
- nonprofessional
- enthusiast
- nonexpert
- potterer
- putterer
- generalist
- fan
- aficionado
- devotee
- afficionado
- jack-of-all-trades
- buff
- all-rounder
- general practitioner
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- expert
- specialist
- authority
- pro
- professional
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
- scholar
- connoisseur
- devotee
- critic
- amateur
- dabbler
- virtuoso
- expert
- cognoscente
- collector
- master
- adept
- fan
- maestro
- reviewer
- enthusiast
- past master
- aficionado
- specialist
- buff
- authority
- afficionado
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- philistine
- materialist
- lowbrow
- groundling
Synonym Chooser
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
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
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
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