connoisseur
Americannoun
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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
- connoisseurship noun
Etymology
Origin of connoisseur
First recorded in 1705–15; from French; Old French conoiseor, from Latin cognōscitōr- (stem of cognōscitor ) “knower”; cognoscible, -tor
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.
Phillips said a 1518 was the sort of watch that once acquired, "a connoisseur can feel to have reached the utmost peak of collecting".
From Barron's • Nov. 9, 2025
In 1996, for example, she was billed as a "chat-up connoisseur" during a dating segment on Good Morning with Anne and Nick.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025
Riese and fellow water sommelier Michael Mascha, founder of FineWaters, a water connoisseur platform, began training people in their field in 2006.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
It’s not a perfect movie, and there are a few too many almost-escapes for this connoisseur.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2025
They were in one of those long breaks in the sermon that the priest, a connoisseur of unbearable silences, used with frequency and to great effect.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
