nonprofessional

[ non-pruh-fesh-uh-nl ]

adjective

1. not a member of or trained in a specific profession.
2. Sports. not offering or engaged in for payment or a monetary prize; amateur:

   a nonprofessional league; a nonprofessional player.

noun

1. a person who is not a professional.
2. an amateur athlete.

nonprofessional

/ ˌnɒnprəˈfɛʃənəl /

adjective

1. not of, relating to, suitable for, or engaged in a profession
2. not undertaken or performed for gain or by people who are paid

Other Words From

• nonpro·fession·al·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonprofessional¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; non- + professional

Example Sentences

Today, Leonard is best known as a trail runner and the creator of Semi-Rad, where he publishes essays and illustrations about life as a nonprofessional athlete.

From Outside Online

The underlying logic is that by the time you, a nonprofessional, learn about a promising new stock, institutional investors have already taken action.

From Washington Post

The order also states that nonprofessional sports are “social gatherings,” limiting such gatherings to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

From Washington Post

The order also states that nonprofessional sports are “social gatherings,” limiting them to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

From Washington Post

Director Steven Soderbergh has a history of casting nonprofessional actors.

From The Daily Beast

It is more vividly brought home to us from the nonprofessional, the disinterested and involuntary testimony of secular writing.

From Project Gutenberg

About the races themselves there was something fascinatingly nonprofessional.

From Project Gutenberg

For the ulceration it is useless to prescribe, because it can neither be diagnosed nor topically treated by the nonprofessional.

From Project Gutenberg

Another and oftentimes fatal mistake made by the nonprofessional is the indiscriminate and reckless use of aconite.

From Project Gutenberg

There was nothing more he could do at the moment—the autosurgeon's decisions were safer than any nonprofessional's guesswork.

From Project Gutenberg