dilettante

noun dil·et·tante \ ˈdi-lə-ˌtänt , -ˌtant ; ˌdi-lə-ˈ \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of dilettante

plural dilettantes or dilettanti play \-ˈtän-tē, -ˈtan-tē\

1 : a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge : dabbler

2 : an admirer or lover of the arts

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dilettante

adjective

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dilettantish

play \-ˌtän-tish, -ˌtan-, ˌdi-lə-ˈ\ adjective

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dilettantism

play \-ˌtän-ˌti-zəm, -ˌtan-, ˌdi-lə-ˈ\ noun

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Examples of dilettante in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of dilettante from the Web

In the course of a year, the former South Carolina governor has transformed herself from a diplomatic dilettante into the highest-flying foreign-policy luminary in the Trump administration.

— chicagotribune.com, "Haley makes it clear she will accept nothing less than to be Tillerson's equal," 9 Mar. 2018
The result is a story both dilettante and devotee can enjoy.

— michael m. guevara, San Antonio Express-News, "Plot twists make “Holmes Entangled” anything but elementary," 1 Mar. 2018
This is not mood music, pretty sounds assembled at a dilettante’s whim.

— stephen hough, New York Times, "100 Years After Debussy’s Death, He Remains the First ‘Modern’ Composer," 2 Mar. 2018
His habit of disappearing frequently on unexplained foreign jaunts has created the image of a dilettante.

— sadanand dhume, WSJ, "India’s Vulnerable Political Dynasty," 14 Dec. 2017
Inspired by an 1885 French comedy and up-to-the-minute electoral politics, Beau Willimon’s new play stars Uma Thurman as a D.C. dilettante with a husband, a lover and a Twitter account.

— alexis soloski, New York Times, "What’s New in NYC Theater," 2 Nov. 2017
Most people who use a food bank are not bored, rich dilettantes looking to game the system.

— mallory ortberg, Slate Magazine, "Let Them Eat iPads," 15 Aug. 2017
There are many ways of seeing landscape quite as good; and none more vivid, in spite of canting dilettantes, than from a railway train.

— Smithsonian, "This 155-mile Hike Through the Pyrenees Merges Contemporary Art With Spain’s Stunning Landscapes," 23 June 2017
Not the strong, dynamic businessman of his campaign ads but a disorganized dilettante, unprepared for the rigors of government, unwilling and unable to face reality with clear eyes and an open mind.

— jamelle bouie, Slate Magazine, "The Conspiracy Theorist in Chief," 6 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dilettante.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dilettante

Italian, from present participle of dilettare to delight, from Latin dilectare — more at delight

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1748

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

dilettante Synonyms

Synonyms

amateur, dabbler, hobbyist, layman, nonexpert, nonprofessional, potterer, putterer, tinkerer;

Antonyms

authority, expert, pro, professional, specialist;

aficionado (also afficionado), buff, devotee, enthusiast, fan;

Synonym Discussion of dilettante

amateur, dilettante, dabbler, tyro mean a person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status. amateur often applies to one practicing an art without mastery of its essentials

- a painting obviously done by an amateur

; in sports it may also suggest not so much lack of skill but avoidance of direct remuneration.

- remained an amateur despite lucrative offers

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.