aficionado
Americannoun
noun
-
an ardent supporter or devotee
a jazz aficionado
-
a devotee of bullfighting
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
This Week in Words: September 22 - 28, 2018
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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.
Part audiophile, part pop-culture aficionado, the budding DJ is the life of the party, even away from the function.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
He could move with the grace of the tango aficionado he became or with the slow, pained gait of the cancer-ridden editor he played in “The Paper.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
If he’s an aficionado of fiction, there’s quite a few in the latest Booker Prize shortlist.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 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
People always assume that because I am into classical music, I’m a jazz aficionado.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
