- amateur
- I(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)n. nonprofessional, beginner; dilettante; volunteer. See beginning, taste. Ant., professional, connoisseur.II(Roget's IV) modif.Syn. nonprofessional, lay, unpaid, inexperienced, avocational, dilettantish, amateurish, unskilled, inexpert, sandlot*; see also inexperienced .n.Syn. nonprofessional, layman, layperson, beginner, novice, learner, dabbler, recruit, dilettante, probationer, aspirant, hopeful, tyro, abecedarian, neophyte, initiate, apprentice, do-it-yourselfer, hobbyist, putterer, freshman*, tenderfoot*, ham*, rookie*, greenhorn*, cub*, fumbler*, bungler*, clod*; see also beginner .Ant. veteran*, professional, expert.Syn.- amateur refers to one who does something for the pleasure of it rather than for pay and often implies a relative lack of skill; a dilettante is an amateur in the arts, usually applied disparagingly to a superficial dabbler; novice and neophyte refer to one who is a beginner, hence inexperienced, in some activity, neophyte carrying additional connotations of youthful enthusiasm; tyro refers to an inexperienced but self-assertive beginner and generally connotes incompetenceIII(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.nonprofessional, dabbler, dilettante, neophyte, tyro, novice, rookie, layman, *bush-leaguer, *lightweight. ''A public nuisance who confounds his ambition with his ability.''—Ambrose Bierce.ANT.: professional, master, virtuosoIV(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun One lacking professional skill and ease in a particular pursuit: dabbler, dilettante, nonprofessional, smatterer, uninitiate. See ABILITY.
English dictionary for students. 2013.