dilettante
a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.
of or relating to dilettantes.
Origin of dilettante
1Other words for dilettante
Other words from dilettante
- dil·et·tan·tish, dil·et·tan·te·ish, adjective
Words Nearby dilettante
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dilettante in a sentence
The fired host unloads on Current TV, accusing Al Gore of being a dilettante and co-owner Joel Hyatt of blackmail.
Keith Olbermann Files a No-Holds-Barred Lawsuit Over Firing by Current TV | Howard Kurtz | April 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the director publicly clashed with Norton (calling him a “narcissistic dilettante”).
Hollywood’s Craziest Director Tony Kaye, Seeks Redemption, With ‘Detachment’ | Chris Lee | March 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe fully admits his chronicle of Galliano's shows from 2004 to 2010 was “the work of a dilettante.”
I finally feel like I can call myself a writer now, rather than writing being just something I do on the side, as a dilettante.
This deficiency in technique must even debar him from claiming any higher signification than that of a clever dilettante.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4) | Richard Muther
He had dropped in in a dilettante spirit to hear the spirited debate, and the judges were greatly honored.
Through the Wall | Cleveland MoffettWith increase of reading we have fallen into a fireside, dilettante culture of ideas as an intellectual pleasure.
More Pages from a Journal | Mark RutherfordDo not suspect that I impose on you the task of writing letters to answer my dilettante questions.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3) | George EliotI believe this to be the test to distinguish the mere dilettante from the artist of real genius.
The Aesthetical Essays | Friedrich Schiller
British Dictionary definitions for dilettante
/ (ˌdɪlɪˈtɑːntɪ) /
a person whose interest in a subject is superficial rather than professional
a person who loves the arts
of or characteristic of a dilettante
Origin of dilettante
1Derived forms of dilettante
- dilettantish or dilettanteish, adjective
- dilettantism or dilettanteism, noun
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
Cultural definitions for dilettante
[ (dil-uh-tahnt, dil-uh-tahnt) ]
Someone who is interested in the fine arts as a spectator, not as a serious practitioner. Dilettante is most often used to mean a dabbler, someone with a broad but shallow attachment to any field.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse