enthusiasm
Americannoun
-
absorbing or controlling possession of the mind by any interest or pursuit; lively interest.
He shows marked enthusiasm for his studies.
- Antonyms
- indifference
-
an occupation, activity, or pursuit in which such interest is shown.
Hunting is his latest enthusiasm.
-
any of various forms of extreme religious devotion, usually associated with intense emotionalism and a break with orthodoxy.
noun
-
ardent and lively interest or eagerness
-
an object of keen interest; passion
-
archaic extravagant or unbalanced religious fervour
-
obsolete possession or inspiration by a god
Other Word Forms
- antienthusiasm noun
- hyperenthusiasm noun
- overenthusiasm noun
- preenthusiasm noun
- unenthusiasm noun
Etymology
Origin of enthusiasm
First recorded in 1570–80; from Late Latin enthūsiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmós, from enthousí(a) “possession by a god” ( énthous, variant of éntheos “having a god within,” from en- en- 2 + -thous, -theos “possessed by a god” + -ia -y 3 ( def. ) ) + -asmos, variant (after vowel stems) of -ismos -ism; theism ( def. )
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.
Stuart Hill, a former Labour councillor who quit the party in 2023 after 30 years of membership, said he joined Your Party "with enthusiasm".
From Barron's
Major U.S. stock indexes notched their fourth straight session of gains Wednesday, boosted by expectations for interest-rate cuts and renewed enthusiasm for the artificial-intelligence trade.
Then, as enthusiasm built further for Alphabet’s tensor processing units, which are an alternative to the graphics processing units sold by Nvidia, the company weighed in on that conversation as well.
From MarketWatch
But they were posted to DOGE’s new website and on X, then shared with great enthusiasm by me and many others.
Worries about the AI trade that buffeted markets recently have weighed particularly heavily on Nvidia, a bellwether of investors’ enthusiasm for big tech.
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.
