amateurism

American  

[am-uh-choo-riz-uhm, -tyoo-, -chuh-, -tuh-, am-uh-tur-iz-uhm] / ˈæm ə tʃʊˌrɪz əm, -tyʊ-, -tʃə-, -tə-, ˌæm əˈtɜr ɪz əm /

noun

1. the practice, quality, or character of an amateur or amateurish performance.

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Other Word Forms

• pseudoamateurism noun

Etymology

Origin of amateurism

First recorded in 1865–70; amateur + -ism

Example Sentences

In an era of amateurism, all her success came when she was working part-time in the postal office at a Guinness factory in London.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Indiana’s rise has happened as college football’s gone sideways, shedding its phony amateurism for something professionalized and completely amok.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

The Senate, which generally sneers at the amateurism of House legislation, would have its turn; if the Senate were successful, the two chambers would then have to bridge what could be substantial differences.

From Slate • May 20, 2025

There was a time when Olympians weren’t allowed to receive any money, when the International Olympic Committee clung to a hidebound notion of amateurism.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024

But in every branch of politics and some departments of science it was an age of amateurism.

From England and Germany by Hughes, William Morris