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
What the evaluation process actually looks like A major myth says online screens are flimsy or amateurish.
—
Lucy Jones
april 11, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
The amateurish stickup failed, fast.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Perhaps in a previous time where Plantasia and Ernest Hood weren’t so in-demand, Freedom to Spend wouldn’t have been incentivized to dig up this amateurish set of tracks, and give it the full reissue treatment.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
In an embarrassingly amateurish political stunt, Bianco blew the president a kiss and all but begged for an endorsement by seizing 650,000 ballots from last November’s election to determine whether they were fraudulently counted.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The wildly amateurish performances turn the story’s tragic high points into moments of unintentional goofiness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
At times, Epstein characterized the billionaire’s office as sloppy and amateurish, exposing him to taxes and reputational risks while making sensitive payments.
—Tom Schoenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
But his manipulation skills are amateurish at best, and the fact that almost all of his plans go off without a hitch is pretty far-fetched.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The results can seem alternately astounding and amateurish.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Lucy Jones
april 11, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
The amateurish stickup failed, fast.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Perhaps in a previous time where Plantasia and Ernest Hood weren’t so in-demand, Freedom to Spend wouldn’t have been incentivized to dig up this amateurish set of tracks, and give it the full reissue treatment.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
In an embarrassingly amateurish political stunt, Bianco blew the president a kiss and all but begged for an endorsement by seizing 650,000 ballots from last November’s election to determine whether they were fraudulently counted.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The wildly amateurish performances turn the story’s tragic high points into moments of unintentional goofiness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
At times, Epstein characterized the billionaire’s office as sloppy and amateurish, exposing him to taxes and reputational risks while making sensitive payments.
—Tom Schoenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
But his manipulation skills are amateurish at best, and the fact that almost all of his plans go off without a hitch is pretty far-fetched.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The results can seem alternately astounding and amateurish.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for amateurish
Adjective
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The intersection of Hollywood and Kodak While film sales to amateur photographers drove a lot of Kodak’s success, so did sales of motion picture film.—
Marcia Greenwood,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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Lorenz also signed an amateur tryout on Wednesday with Iowa and could debut as early as Wednesday night against Grand Rapids.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Blackhawks understood that handing their defense to a group of young, inexperienced players would be a challenge after the trade deadline.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
As New York Magazine reported last month, shifts are also crushingly long, the vast majority of managers are young and inexperienced, and contracts often end abruptly without any prior warning.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Geno Auriemma’s behavior at the women’s Final Four was outrageous and unprofessional.—
Letters to the Editor,
Hartford Courant,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Production assistants told Albuquerque police that Busfield was sometimes touchy or unprofessional.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Amateurish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/amateurish. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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