amateur synonyms

amateur

modif.

nonprofessional, lay, unpaid, inexperienced, avocational, dilettantish, amateurish, unskilled, inexpert, sandlot*; see also inexperienced.

amateur

n.

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.

Antonyms veteran*, professional*, expert.

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 incompetence

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.