amateurish
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of amateurish
Explanation
Something that's amateurish is done by someone who's not an expert. Your amateurish attempt at baking might result in a lopsided pink cake, for example. If your handmade dress is amateurish, it won't look like you bought it in a department store. When a brand new teacher makes an amateurish try at getting his class's attention, he doesn't exactly sound like an authority figure. At the heart of amateurish is the noun amateur, or "beginner." The oldest meaning of amateur is "lover of something," from the Latin amatorem, "lover," although by the late 1700's it came to mean "dabbler," or not a professional.
Vocabulary lists containing amateurish
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ish
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am, ami, amor
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their seasoned troops, reinforced by Hessian mercenaries, faced an amateurish and poorly provisioned army of colonials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The decision was slammed as "amateurish" by former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, who added that he was "staggered" that they would turn down the opportunity.
From Barron's ● Nov. 29, 2025
People who understand the process of diplomacy think that this is very amateurish and is unlikely to yield real results that are enforceable.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025
It has sparked fascination among many, but historian Dr Amy Boyington describes the medieval-themed video as "amateurish" and "evocative and sensational" rather than historically accurate.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2025
Comparing Chout with Chaplin’s The Kid of the same year sheds a cruel and amateurish light on the former.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
