aficionado
Americannoun
noun
-
an ardent supporter or devotee
a jazz aficionado
-
a devotee of bullfighting
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aficionado
First recorded in 1835–45; from Spanish: literally, “amateur,” past participle -ado ( see -ate 1) of aficionar “to engender affection,” equivalent to afición affection 1 + -ar infinitive suffix
Explanation
If you really like something and make it your business to study up on its history and characteristics, you could be called an aficionado of that subject. This sort of funny-looking word might seem like it needs a second “f,” but it really doesn’t, and you should hold out on the temptation to add another one. (The single “f” spelling is a result of the word’s Spanish heritage.) The word aficionado implies serious study and fervent interest, but you can think of it as just a fancy way to say fan. You could call yourself a football aficionado, for example, if you think that sounds more impressive than just saying you’re a football fan.
Vocabulary lists containing aficionado
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The Night Circus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some retail investors, like this videogame aficionado, made a killing, but there are reasons to take a sobering look at AI.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
Drummer Charlie Watts, the group’s newest member, a jazz aficionado and an accomplished percussionist, propelled the music forward with a rock-solid beat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Foley fancies himself something of a hot sauce aficionado, saying he adds Frank’s RedHot on everything from leftover beef stew to chicken chili.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
From breakout comedians to beauty innovators, this year's nominees include jacket potato entrepreneurs, tap dancing brothers, a bus loving aunty, a BookTok aficionado and a film location fangirl.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025
Mary asked Helen, an aficionado of the outdoors, to take Janice trekking with a full backpack, first on Buckroe Beach, then up into Virginia’s Shenandoah mountains.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
He went to bat for gummy aficionados during oral argument.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
Thrust into a position that was not his, Bradley had to endure the jeers of frenzied aficionados at the start of his professional career, along with spitting and tossed coins.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
To some aficionados, the bikes are an expression of the same rebelliousness that fueled the rise of companies such as Harley-Davidson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Their dog-like robot, Spot, has become something of an online icon among tech aficionados, with millions of YouTube views.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
It is these aficionados, these rêveurs, who see the details in the bigger picture of the circus.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
