Dilettante is the word you want here, I think.
this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2025
38 points (89.6% liked)
Ask Lemmy
40103 readers
1805 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online
7) No Hit-and-Run questions.
Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Is dilettante connoted as negatively as the OP depicts the person?
Asking this as a non-native English speaker and because in French dilettante means 'someone doing an activity for the sheer pleasure/satisfaction they get out of doing it.'
I've read the definition and I guess it's not always as overtly negative, but that's easy to fix with one or two extra words, ie. "self-centered dilettante"
The French sense is how the word was originally used, and it can still be used that way. But the primary sense now is about the superficial nature of the person's knowledge or interest. So it's negative, but not as negative as the word OP is seeking.
Thx, I understand that and it goes along the context also mentioned in another comment.
From looking up more usage, as it isn't a word I often hear, it seems by nature to be neutral, but context can direct it to be more positive or negative.
If I heard someone say it in conversation, it would put a lot of emphasis on the tone of the conversation to take the meaning. I'd imagine it being used more sarcastically, as it sounds like a fancy word for someone with shallow knowledge of a subject.
"John won't shut up about that trendy new art exhibit."
"Oh yeah, he's a real dilettante all of a sudden!" 😒
John had never shown interest in art before, but now that he saw it and either liked it or pretended to like it to show off his "higher appreciation of culture" than his friends now he keeps talking about it even though he doesn't know anything about art.
I wouldn't say it's impossible to use in a positive manner, but being dismissive feels more likely. If someone used it that way I'd feel I was potentially missing out on a joke at first.
I've only ever heard it used negatively; in English it has the connotation of someone who enjoys being know to do the activity but isn't invested in the activity itself; someone who isn't serious about the activity.
Thx everyone for the clarification :)
I think you nailed this one. Poser was my first thought, but a poser is someone who fakes an interest to fit in. Dilettante has that gatekeeping aspect to it, which seems important to OP's description.
Here's an example usage from cambridge dictionary:
Is he a pretentious postmodern dilettante barely concealing his limitations behind mannered overwrought wordplay and the needless over-ornamentation of derivative rock songs and genre pastiches?
Yes, yes Cambridge, that's right
Exactly yes thanks. Gatekeeping is one of those words I tend to forget it exists
I agree with this, but it lacks the ‘pretentious air’ about the individual. A charlatan or poser equally partially describes this. This actually seems to be a missing term.
Yesss yes yes yes I think you've nailed it thank you! I didn't know this word, I've read the definition and it suits quite well.
I actually like that the right word is as basic as poser.
They'd like to have a special name, but they're literally just a bog-standard poser.
Bombastic? Pretentious? Braggart?
I second pretentious.
I think pretentious is the closest match but it's still lacking something else. Another commenter suggested two words instead of one, I guess that might be the way to go
"Pretentious douchebag" will probably fit the bill.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Cunt
Pretentious
Pompous
I think it is what in Spain we call an "enterao", but I could be wrong.
I'm not sure how to translate it, maybe as "a heard about", a guy that always has heard about whatever and thinks his info is much better or knows a better way to do anything.
Or a "fantasma/casper"
That's a good one too. Wow, I now realise that I haven't used it in years.
En Chile es "alumbra(d)o", que se da "brillo" o importancia.
Poser
The type that usually likes to talk all the time about any subject, because everything has to be about them? That spews the biggest nonsense with great confidence? I usually call them "manager material" or "walking Dunning-Krüger".
The word is arrogant:-
'having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.'
load more comments
(2 replies)
An arrogant hypocrite who's not nearly as clever as they think they are? A silly man pretending to be otherwise? Me?!
Was gonna say, I'm not throwing stones in this glass house.
a know-it-all maybe, which I guess is three words, but the lil stripes inbetween are masking it
Agreeing with arrogant as the best word for this
This sounds like the type of person I would refer to as a know-it-all.
If you've got a black cat, they've got a blacker cat?
If you've been to Tenerife they've been to Elevenerife?
I call that "one-up-manship"
Perhaps "sophomoric"
Pseud.
Maybe two words will do the trick, e.g. "wannabe intellectual"?
Probably, I think one word only is too specific. So far I think pretentious fits the bill the best, but it isn't enough to fully describe the type.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Intellectual snob.
Pseudo intellectual. Pseudo polymath. Pseudo erudite...
I'd probably call them lost or insecure.
Most people with behaviors like that do it as a defense mechanism.
view more: next ›