Dictionary

amateurish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈæ.mə.tjʊɚ.ɪʃ/
• (US) audio
• /ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃʊɚ.ɪʃ/

Etymology

Etymology tree English amateur Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English amateurish From amateur + -ish.

Meanings

1. (derogatory) Suggesting or reflecting the efforts of an amateur; not seeming professional or polished.
   • Moreover, Trump’s use of obvious disinformation — the amateurish video he showed Ramaphosa, and his accompanying statements about the “over a thousand” killings of white farmers — to try and make his case has uprooted whatever U.S. credibility had survived over the last several months. 2025 May 27, Thomas Carothers, “A new low on US democracy support”, in POLITICO, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2025:
   • Behind her on the wall was an amateurish painting of an old lady, set in an ornate antique frame. 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 55:
   • Some of the photographs are new and interesting, but many captions are amateurish, uninformative or simply careless. 1964 September 14, “New Books: The History of Railways. By Erwin Berghaus. Barrie & Rockcliff. 35s.”, in Modern Railways, page 222:
   • The conduct of the meeting and the passing of intelligence is simply amateurish statecraft and intelligence tradecraft, and begs the question: Who are the professionals planning the strategy and operations that direct the President on the world stage? 2017 May 16, Mark Hertling, “Trump had the right to do it, but should he have?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Jun 2017:

Forms

Deriveds

amateurishness · amateurishly · unamateurish

Translations (35)

be ама́тарскі (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · de unfachmännisch (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · bg люби́телски (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · sv amatörmässig (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · de laienhaft (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · hy դիլետանտական (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · uk ама́торський (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · pl amatorski (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · da amatørmæssig (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · fr amateur (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · eo amatoreca (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · nl amateuristisch (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · nb amatørmessig (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · bg аматьо́рски (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · cs amatérský (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · mk амате́рски (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · de stümperhaft (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · es amateur (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · mi hakorea (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · ru люби́тельский (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · de amateurhaft (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · uk люби́тельський (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · be любі́цельскі (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · sh ама̀те̄рскӣ (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · ru непрофессиона́льный (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · hy սիրողական (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · fi amatöörimäinen (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · pt amador (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · nn amatørmessig (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · ga tútach (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · sh amàtērskī (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · sv dilettantisk (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · es chapucero (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · id amatiran (reflecting the efforts of an amateur) · es inexperto (reflecting the efforts of an amateur)