dil|et|tan|te

dil|et|tan|te
dil|et|tan|te «DIHL uh TAHNT, -TAN tee», noun, plural -tes, -ti «-tee», adjective, verb, -ted, -te|ing.
–n.
1. a person who follows some art or science without learning much about it; dabbler: »

He was a dilettante in a dozen fields, an expert in none.

SYNONYM(S): amateur.
2. a lover of the fine arts.
3. a trifler.
–adj.
of or like a dilettante: »

The hero of The Spider's House is a dilettante culture vulture named John Stenham (Time).

–v.i.
to play the dilettante.
╂[< Italian dilettante < dilettare to charm, delight < Latin dēlectāre]

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • dil|et|tan|ti — «DIHL uh TAN tee, TAHN », noun. dilettantes; a plural of dilettante …   Useful english dictionary

  • dil|et|tan|te|ish — «DIHL uh TAN tee ihsh, TAHN », adjective. = dilettantish. (Cf. ↑dilettantish) …   Useful english dictionary

  • dil|et|tan|te|ism — «DIHL uh TAN tee ihz uhm, TAHN », noun. = dilettantism. (Cf. ↑dilettantism) …   Useful english dictionary

  • dil|et|tan|tish — «DIHL uh TAHN tihsh, TAN », adjective. like a dilettante; characterized by dilettantism …   Useful english dictionary

  • dil — ae·dil·i·ty; ar·ma·dil·li·di·i·dae; bob·a·dil; ce·dil·la; cev·a·dil·la; cor·dil·le·ra; croc·o·dil·ia; croc·o·dil·i·dae; croc·o·dil·oid; daf·fa·dil·ly; daf·fo·dil; dil; dil·a·ta·tion; dil·a·ta·tor; dil·a·tom·e·ter; dil·a·to·ri·ly;… …   English syllables

  • tan — ac·coun·tan·cy; ac·er·tan·nin; ac·e·tan·nin; ace·tyl·tan·nic; ace·tyl·tan·nin; ad·ju·tan·cy; af·fret·tan·do; al·bu·tan·nin; al·len·tan·do; an·na·pol·i·tan; ar·gen·tan; ba·tan; ba·tan·gan; ben·e·ven·tan; bho·tan; bhu·tan; bi·tan·hol; bla·tan·cy;… …   English syllables

  • dil|et|tant|ism — «DIHL uh TAHN tihz uhm, TAN », noun. the quality or practice of a dilettante …   Useful english dictionary

  • dil|et|tant|ist — «DIHL uh TAN tihst, TAHN », adjective. = dilettantish. (Cf. ↑dilettantish) …   Useful english dictionary

  • dilettante — dil•et•tante [[t]ˈdɪl ɪˌtɑnt, ˌdɪl ɪˈtɑnt, ˈtɑn teɪ, ˈtæn ti[/t]] n. pl. tantes, tan•ti [[t] ˈtɑn ti[/t]] adj. 1) a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, esp. in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler 2) a lover… …   From formal English to slang

  • dilettantism — dil•et•tant•ism [[t]ˈdɪl ɪ tɑnˌtɪz əm, tæn [/t]] also dil•et•tan•te•ism [[t]ˌdɪl ɪˈtɑn tiˌɪz əm, ˈtæn [/t]] n. the practices of a dilettante • Etymology: 1800–10 …   From formal English to slang

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