dilettantes

variants or dilettanti
Definition of dilettantesnext
plural of dilettante
1
as in amateurs
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

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2
as in scholars
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

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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 dilettantes Packer and Srulovich aren’t dilettantes, either. Lela London, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilettantes
Noun
  • Vitello, standing in front of a group of professionals instead of amateurs, told his team about his background, his origins.
    Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Olympics athletes, with rare exceptions like the basketball teams or hockey teams, or a Michael Phelps or Shaun White, are amateurs.
    Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • What this small copper artifact from Grave 3932 suggests is that the roots of that enduring technology stretch far deeper into Egypt’s past than scholars had recognized.
    Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Some scholars suspect that his race was deliberately kept vague and note that, at the time, even those from other European countries like Italy or Spain would have been discriminated against by Brits.
    Ellise Shafer, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Rather than targeting end users, the company aims to empower developers, researchers, and tinkerers to create breakthrough humanoid applications without building full robots from scratch.
    Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Dedicated sports engineers and tinkerers alike continue to fine tune specialized skate designs.
    Mark Hay, Popular Science, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Art connoisseurs and culture enthusiasts have more than 100 galleries and over 50 museums to choose from.
    Meghan Palmer, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
  • The late art dealer Fred Kline attributed the work to Leonardo, but other connoisseurs have disputed its authenticity.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dilettantes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilettantes. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.

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