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View synonyms for amateur

amateur

[ am-uh-choor, -cher, -ter, am-uh-tur ]

noun

  1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons. Compare professional.
  2. an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize.

    Synonyms: nonprofessional

  3. a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity:

    Hunting lions is not for amateurs.

    Synonyms: novice, tyro, dilettante

  4. a person who admires something; devotee; fan:

    an amateur of the cinema.



adjective

  1. characteristic of or engaged in by an amateur; nonprofessional:

    an amateur painter; amateur tennis.

amateur

/ -tʃə; ˌæməˈtɜː; ˈæmətə; -ˌtjʊə /

noun

  1. a person who engages in an activity, esp a sport, as a pastime rather than professionally or for gain
  2. an athlete or sportsman
  3. a person unskilled in or having only a superficial knowledge of a subject or activity
  4. a person who is fond of or admires something
  5. modifier consisting of or for amateurs

    an amateur event

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adjective

  1. amateurish; not professional or expert

    an amateur approach

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈamateurism, noun
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Other Words From

  • pro·ama·teur adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of amateur1

1775–85; < French, Middle French < Latin amātor lover, equivalent to amā- (stem of amāre to love) + -tor -tor, replaced by French -teur (< Latin -tōr-, oblique stem of -tor ); -eur
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Word History and Origins

Origin of amateur1

C18: from French, from Latin amātor lover, from amāre to love
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Example Sentences

In April Christina Massey, a Brooklyn-based artist, created Artists for the USPS, an Instagram-driven group that connected amateur and professional artists in pairs, all as part of a move to help support the service.

Obviously, given that these are informal cookbooks full of recipes written by amateur chefs, not everything works.

From Eater

Alex Hill, a Brooklyn-based amateur chef, is bringing people together through social media.

The technical barriers could prevent millions of amateur investors losing their shirts, which is what happened when the 2017 bubble popped.

From Fortune

These amateurs who think they’re experts don’t stand a chance, but do stand a chance of really getting sucked in.

Launched late last week, Ready for Romney appears to be, at best, political amateur hour.

Can you imagine Superman being handed over to a writer just a notch above amateur?

Thankfully, the Coleman kids reached a Burger King, and Wahlberg and his amateur biker gang rode off.

Sharp did lots of school plays, which led to a role in amateur operetta, then professional pantomime.

Today, though, professional and amateur historians can build counter-narratives that are hard to dismantle.

To assist the amateur and collector in this pursuit is the object of the present little work.

A Cremona Violin is, to a rich amateur, a loadstone that is sure to attract the shining metal from the depths of his purse.

The tone is with few exceptions sweet in quality and seldom powerful, but admirably suited to the amateur.

The Dictionary we have compiled will tell the amateur what names will most probably supply the qualities he desires.

In considering the first point, power, the amateur will have to beware of a very possible mistake he may fall into.

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