aficionado
Americannoun
-
aficionados
plural
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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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:
"I'm not really a musical expert or aficionado," he says.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
Basil had tremendous expertise in housing finance, but less in banking; Karen was a banking aficionado with limited knowledge of housing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 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
People always assume that because I am into classical music, I’m a jazz aficionado.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
First erected in the early 1960s as an advertising gimmick, these giants are rising again thanks to preservationists, kitsch aficionados and savvy entrepreneurs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Tide aficionados are deeply loyal to the scent of the detergent, so that had to come through in the tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
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
Those who were aficionados could always get rooms even when the hotel was full.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
