Synonym Chooser

How does the noun tyro differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of tyro are amateur, dabbler, and dilettante. While all these words mean "a person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status," tyro implies inexperience often combined with audacity with resulting crudeness or blundering.

shows talent but is still a mere tyro

When could amateur be used to replace tyro?

While the synonyms amateur and tyro are close in meaning, amateur often applies to one practicing an art without mastery of its essentials; in sports it may also suggest not so much lack of skill but avoidance of direct remuneration.

a painting obviously done by an amateur
remained an amateur despite lucrative offers

In what contexts can dabbler take the place of tyro?

The synonyms dabbler and tyro are sometimes interchangeable, but dabbler suggests desultory habits of work and lack of persistence.

a dabbler who started novels but never finished them

When can dilettante be used instead of tyro?

The meanings of dilettante and tyro largely overlap; however, 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.

had no patience for dilettantes

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 tyro No tyro, Lang may have been cut off in her prime, but her prime is indisputably her own. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 If Fishman’s math holds up, ESPN could be looking at a 20% boost in overall revenue in just seven years’ time—a feat that likely would be wholly improbable if the sports unit were to maintain the status quo or promote the streaming tyro at the expense of the foundational TV network. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 18 Dec. 2024 Rabe also steers the movie’s helm, alongside her life partner and fellow actor Hamish Linklater, and the tyro directors manage to thread a tricky needle with their first feature, navigating the chasm and the overlap between agitated and quiet, between cartoon brightness and angst. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 June 2023 This intelligent, sensitive treatment of the rarely seen, everyday lives of young Palestinian citizens of Israel marks tyro feature writer-director Firas Khoury as a talent to watch, as well as a solid acquisition for Film Movement, the North American distributor. Alissa Simon, Variety, 22 Nov. 2022 Ayyub played another student leader, a tyro named Shiva Shekhar—not quite the main role, but a key one nevertheless, and a fillip to his career. Samanth Subramanian, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022 Outfitted in progressively more luscious frocks by Susan Hilferty, Feldstein makes a journey from nervy tyro to nervier pro. Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2022 When a tyro Steve Jobs or Bill Gates moved a lever back and forth, different configurations of those cylinders caused the Digi-Comp to compute Boolean logic operations. Jim Sullivan, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tyro
Noun
  • Santos was the Republican political novice who shocked everyone by winning a House seat in a traditionally Democratic New York district — and who was then promptly revealed as having fabricated virtually his entire personal, educational and business history.
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Twin Cities, 24 Oct. 2025
  • But Ellison is no novice on this front, either.
    Josef Adalian, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • While starter credit cards still exist, beginner cards are becoming increasingly restrictive, and come with high trade-offs such as high interest rates and minimal rewards.
    Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Situated just steps from the Virginia Beach coastline, Atlantic Park Surf offers beginner surfing lessons, private coaching and pro sessions.
    Riley Jones, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The humanities program will work with the arts board's Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program to train master and apprentice Wisconsin folk artists in planning and producing public programs that showcase and contextualize cultural traditions, stories and histories.
    Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • One of the institution’s main goals moving forward is to open a public apprentice training center in 2025 dedicated to reviving training programs for crafts that have lost their traditional teaching structures.
    Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In a 117-116 win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, the rookie guard from Baylor scored 34 points.
    Tony Jones, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Collins is no doubt licking his chops studying tape of another Patriots rookie, left guard Jared Wilson, who allowed two sacks last weekend.
    Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • French filmmaker Alexis Lloyd (30 Beats) takes the audience inside a therapy group in his new movie, Group – The Schopenheuer Project, about a newcomer who joins a group and shares his intention to write a TV series based on his experience.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
  • By February, most of these newcomers are nowhere to be seen.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Broncos freshman goalkeeper Ava de Leest was also called into action a few times.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2025
  • That should mean the Horned Frogs should have plenty of chances to exploit the Mountaineers’ secondary, even if freshman wide receiver Ed Small isn’t available.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Tyro.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tyro. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!