as in amateur
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill
that's an amateurish wallpapering job—the pattern doesn't match at the seams
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Recent Examples of amateurish
This annoyed Potter, who felt holding talks in such a public place was an amateurish move.
—
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Bannon, for his part, slammed Kennedy's effectiveness as health secretary, calling his efforts to implement an anti-vaccine agenda unserious and amateurish.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025
Relations only continued to tank when, in 2020, American mercenaries attempted to overthrow the Venezuelan government in an amateurish scheme.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
People who understand the process of diplomacy think that this is very amateurish and is unlikely to yield real results that are enforceable.
—Donald Heflin, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2025
The looks are nearly all amateurish and awkward.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
That gives Easy’s Waltz a strangely amateurish vibe, as if Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino have somehow stumbled into someone’s student film.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Bannon, for his part, slammed Kennedy's effectiveness as health secretary, calling his efforts to implement an anti-vaccine agenda unserious and amateurish.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025
Relations only continued to tank when, in 2020, American mercenaries attempted to overthrow the Venezuelan government in an amateurish scheme.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
People who understand the process of diplomacy think that this is very amateurish and is unlikely to yield real results that are enforceable.
—Donald Heflin, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2025
The looks are nearly all amateurish and awkward.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
That gives Easy’s Waltz a strangely amateurish vibe, as if Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino have somehow stumbled into someone’s student film.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for amateurish
Adjective
-
In 1979, amateur archaeologists in Essex recovered multiple aircraft components, some of which were connected to Lowry’s plane and its crash site.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Throughout the film, del Toro flits and hovers between contradictory ideas, with the restlessness of the beautiful butterflies that Elizabeth, an amateur entomologist, likes to study.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But let’s face it, the Red Wings have looked a bit inexperienced at times so far, too.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The helmers cycle through a year’s worth of seasons for Zhenya and Anatolij Pilipenko, inexperienced farmers who envisioned a new life for themselves and their two young daughters.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Many of our older colleagues slammed it as unprofessional, while others called it courageous.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
-
They’ve been stigmatized as unkempt or unprofessional, banned in schools and workplaces through discriminatory policies that the CROWN Act was created to dismantle.—
Jailynn Tayor,
Essence,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Amateurish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/amateurish. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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