connoisseur
Americannoun
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connoisseurs
plural
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a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.
a connoisseur of modern art.
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a discerning judge of the best in any field.
a connoisseur of horses.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of connoisseur
First recorded in 1705–15; from French; Old French conoiseor, from Latin cognōscitōr- (stem of cognōscitor ) “knower”; see cognoscible, -tor
Explanation
A connoisseur is a person who, through study and interest, has a fine appreciation for something, like the connoisseur who can identify the clarinet player on a jazz recording by the sound of his inhalations alone. A connoisseur is an authority in his field, someone who has expert knowledge and training, especially in the arts. A connoisseur may also be someone with an extremely developed sense of taste, like the connoisseur who can identify rare wine by a flavor others can't even detect. Then again, some people call themselves connoisseurs of just about anything they like — pizza, old vinyl albums, even cartoons — because they know so much about it.
Vocabulary lists containing connoisseur
In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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Treasure Island
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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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.
See Examples For:
And, if you’re a gamer but not a horror connoisseur, Nadira Goffe helpfully breaks down whether Resident Evil will be too scary for you, using Slate’s highly scientific Scaredy Scale.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026
She said: "Record shops of the world will know first-hand that above all, Robert Plant is a connoisseur of his craft whose appetite for musical discoveries has not waned with the passage of time."
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
As far as horror films go, writer-director Ian Tuason’s debut feature “Undertone” has just about everything a genre connoisseur could ever want, all rolled into one.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
I’m something of a Pilates connoisseur, and the class hit all the familiar beats, challenging and satisfying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
Mal licked a finger and held it to the air, her face careful: a connoisseur of wind.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
While the neighborhood used to be renowned for flannel-clad IPA connoisseurs and a thriving indie art scene, the 2010s-era hipsters who sparked the Hasidim vs.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
If nothing else, the galleries of the Lucas Museum appear designed specifically to make certain critics and connoisseurs roar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Watch prices that are up double digits from last year thanks to connoisseurs bidding them up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
New York pizza may be the gold standard for connoisseurs, but Iowan pizza packs a profit punch.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
Among mountaineers and other connoisseurs of geologic form, Everest is not regarded as a particularly comely peak.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
