neophyte

American  

[nee-uh-fahyt] / ˈni əˌfaɪt /

noun

neophytes plural

1. a beginner or novice.

   He's a neophyte at chess.

   Synonyms:

   tyro, greenhorn

2. Roman Catholic Church. a novice.

3. a person newly converted to a belief, as a heathen, heretic, or nonbeliever; proselyte.

4. Primitive Church. a person newly baptized.

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neophyte British  

/ ˌniːəʊˈfɪtɪk, ˈniːəʊˌfaɪt /

noun

1. a person newly converted to a religious faith

2. RC Church a novice in a religious order

3. a novice or beginner

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• neophytism
  noun
• neophytic
  adjective
• neophytish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• neophytes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of neophyte

First recorded in 1540–50; from Late Latin neophytus “newly planted,” from Greek neóphytos; see neo-, -phyte

Explanation

A neophyte is someone who's brand new at something. You're a neophyte the first time you pick up a guitar and start learning to play. Neo- means new, and -phyte is from the Greek phuton, "plant" — like a baby plant, a neophyte is someone who is new to an activity. In Greek, neophytos (literally "newly planted") was used to refer to a new church convert. A political neophyte is someone who is newly elected and comes to Washington D.C. not understanding how the game of politics is played. A Frisbee neophyte is someone who has just thrown the disc for the first time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

neophyte neophytes

Ramaswamy burst onto the national political scene in 2023 as a neophyte with a knack for using social media and podcast appearances to bolster his image.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

How did a dusty old breakup lament become a hit for Francis, a neophyte?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

The neophyte effects company bungled the pricing from the storyboards, however, not understanding they had to cut back several times to the same shots, sending the sequence 500% over budget.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2025

Yet Corum has gone through the Rams’ offseason program with an attitude that tilted more neophyte than seasoned performer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024

Although neophyte writers may repeat a simple sentence structure to the point of inanity, most writers go to the opposite extreme and vary their syntax capriciously.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Key to their transformation has been the crypto sector, where they were all neophytes a few years ago, but now run businesses that raised billions of dollars from investors before the market turned sour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026

So we figured that even as total neophytes, there was a chance we could make a coin that would go to the moon.

From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2025

They saved money by hiring neophytes and then letting them go once they got enough experience to demand a larger salary.

From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2024

The campaign started as an unlikely bid for two political neophytes trying to get the area to elect a Latino for the first time.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

She sees things with new eyes; the presence of "the neophytes," as she calls the daughters, gives an atmosphere of "first sight" to the whole.

From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe

Related Words

• newcomer
• novice