Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who engages in an activity for pleasure rather than as a profession: An amateur participates in a study, sport, or art for personal enjoyment, not for financial gain or as a primary career.
   • A person who is not an expert; a non-professional: An amateur may lack the formal skill, training, or experience of a professional in a particular field.

2. Adjective:

   • Engaged in an activity as a pastime rather than a profession: Describes an activity or a person involved in it for recreation, not for pay.
   • Characteristic of or done by an amateur; not professional: Can imply a lack of professional skill or polish, though not necessarily a lack of enthusiasm or effort.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • She is an amateur in astronomy, spending her nights observing stars with a telescope.
  • The tournament is open to both professionals and amateurs.
• Adjective:
  • He is an amateur photographer who takes beautiful pictures of nature.
  • The film had an amateur quality, but its story was heartfelt.

Advanced Usage

• "in an amateur capacity": participating or acting as a non-professional.
  • She served on the committee in an amateur capacity, offering her time freely.
• "amateur status": the condition of not being paid for participation in a sport or activity, often important in competitive athletics.
  • The athlete risked losing his amateur status by accepting endorsement money.

Variants and Related Words

• Amateurish (adjective): Lacking professional skill or expertise; not done well.
  • The repairs were amateurish and didn't last.
• Amateurism (noun): The practice, quality, or condition of being an amateur.
  • His amateurism was evident in his passionate but unpolished performance.

Synonyms

• Noun: Nonprofessional, hobbyist, enthusiast, dilettante.
• Adjective: Nonprofessional, recreational, unpaid, unprofessional.

Antonyms

• Noun: Professional, expert, specialist.
• Adjective: Professional, expert, skilled.

Related Phrases

• Rank amateur: A complete beginner; someone with very little skill or experience.
  • When I started cooking, I was a rank amateur.
• Amateur hour: A situation characterized by incompetence or lack of professionalism (idiomatic, often derogatory).
  • The chaotic meeting was a total amateur hour.

Adjective

1. lacking professional skill or expertise
   • a very amateurish job
   • inexpert but conscientious efforts
   • an unskilled painting
2. engaged in as a pastime
   • an amateur painter
   • gained valuable experience in amateur theatricals
   • recreational golfers
   • reading matter that is both recreational and mentally stimulating
   • unpaid extras in the documentary

Noun

1. an athlete who does not play for pay
2. someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime