word choice - "Dabble" in a positive sense


Can the word "dabble" be used in a positive sense?


As in,



A true "master of all trades", he has dabbled in several fields & contributed to numerous scientific advances.




Answer



Dabbled in carries a not negative connotation, but a somewhat dismissive tone. As in, "I dabbled in witchcraft and it wasn't for me." Dabbling doesn't have a sense of permanency to it in terms of one's interest in a matter. That said, "I dabbled in novice physics books and am a bit wiser for the effort" would certainly bear a positivity about it.


Mostly, it just depends on how one extends or qualifies the impact of dabbling. Dabbling seems to have a certain antecedent>consequent structure to it that implies the positive/negative; i.e. with both example phrases above there is no +/- value until the "and..." statement created one.


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