TINKERER Synonyms: 24 Similar and Opposite Words

tinkerer

noun

Definition of tinkerer

as in amateur

a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a pastime rather than as a profession he's been tinkering with cars since he was a kid, and now he's a tinkerer who knows nearly as much as a mechanic

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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 tinkerer How did the behind-the-scenes tinkerer become the singer in his band? — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2026 The repair cafes are particularly special, said Conchas, who watched a tinkerer resurrect a broken family trinket box last year. — Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Aug. 2026 When an experiment fails, the tinkerer does not collapse emotionally. — Lintao "lt" Lu, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 In the coming months, the company plans to add more functionality and self-serve features to allow a wider range of use cases and users, eventually reaching individual tinkerers. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 21 July 2026 Enthusiasts and tinkerers alike are building their own versions using Open Source software and inexpensive hardware. — New Atlas, 18 July 2026 Amodei’s assessment of the dangers may be right or wrong, but an ad that grapples with those risks is arguably more honest than previous campaigns that present Claude as a tool for tinkerers and problem solvers. — Harry Booth, Time, 17 July 2026 Enter Eldridge Johnson, an American businessman and tinkerer who founded the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901 amid a messy landscape of copyright battles and patent filings. — Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026 On the other hand, some tinkerers have already shared details on how to keep the disabled routers working. — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tinkerer

Noun

Rather than enter the amateur draft, De Paula signed directly with the Dodgers as an international amateur for a bonus of just under $400,000.

— Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Among the newspaper’s alums was Mildred Wirt Benson, better known to legions of Nancy Drew fans as Carolyn Keene, the original author of the mystery books featuring the plucky amateur detective.

— Kate Brumback, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of amateur

Noun

Diesel, an occasional hobbyist musician, seems to have spent some time actually recording whatever this is.

— Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
Models like this are also popular with hobbyists, AI researchers, and individual developers because they can be tinkered with on local hardware without per-token API fees.

— Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of hobbyist

Noun

Any fan of the franchise will tell you that the full lore of the world crafted by Tetsuya Nomura is virtually nonsensical to explain to a layman.

— Brian Welk, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026
Hundreds of laymen, actuated solely by idle curiosity, received little more than a crick in the neck for their pains.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of layman

Noun

Supporters had campaigned for Merlin to be allowed into the Azteca to witness Mexico’s final group game — but the dabbler found his free passage impeded on Wednesday evening by FIFA regulations.

— Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 June 2026
In 1937, Stalin, himself a former dabbler in the language, reversed course on Esperanto and herded its speakers into gulags on account of its internationalist appeal.

— Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026