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dilettante

[ dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahnt, -tahn-tey, -tan-tee ]
/ ˈdɪl ɪˌtɑnt, ˌdɪl ɪˈtɑnt, -ˈtɑn teɪ, -ˈtæn ti /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dilettante ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural dil·et·tantes, dil·et·tan·ti [dil-i-tahn-tee]. /ˈdɪl ɪˈtɑn ti/.

a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.

adjective

of or relating to dilettantes.

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Origin of dilettante

1725–35; <Italian, noun use of present participle of dilettare<Latin dēlectāre to delight

OTHER WORDS FROM dilettante

dil·et·tan·tish, dil·et·tan·te·ish, adjective

Words nearby dilettante

dilator, dilatory, Dilaudid, dildo, dilemma, dilettante, dilettantism, DILF, Dili, diligence, diligent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to dilettante

connoisseur, tenderfoot, green, rookie, abecedarian, uninitiate, dabbler, aesthete, tyro, greenhorn, trifler, dallier, half-baked, unskilled, artsy fartsy, dabbling, half-cocked, unaccomplished, ungifted, nonprofessional

Example sentences from the Web for dilettante

British Dictionary definitions for dilettante

dilettante
/ (ˌdɪlɪˈtɑːntɪ) /

noun plural -tantes or -tanti (-ˈtɑːntɪ)

a person whose interest in a subject is superficial rather than professional
a person who loves the arts

adjective

of or characteristic of a dilettante

Derived forms of dilettante

dilettantish or dilettanteish, adjectivedilettantism or dilettanteism, noun

Word Origin for dilettante

C18: from Italian, from dilettare to delight, from Latin dēlectāre
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for dilettante

dilettante
[ (dil-uh-tahnt, dil-uh-tahnt) ]

Someone who is interested in the fine arts as a spectator, not as a serious practitioner. Dilettante is most often used to mean a dabbler, someone with a broad but shallow attachment to any field.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.