Both Uses of
dilettante
in
Anna Karenina
- He was well acquainted with the way dilettanti have (the cleverer they were the worse he found them) of looking at the works of contemporary artists with the sole object of being in a position to say that art is a thing of the past, and that the more one sees of the new men the more one sees how inimitable the works of the great old masters have remained.†
Part 5
- He knew that Vronsky could not be prevented from amusing himself with painting; he knew that he and all dilettanti had a perfect right to paint what they liked, but it was distasteful to him.†
Part 5 *
Definition:
-
(dilettante) someone with an interest in a subject area, but without the knowledge or experience of a professionaleditor's notes: Dilettante is sometimes used derogatorily -- especially of someone wealthy who has no need to earn money in their field of interest.