noun
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a person filled with or motivated by enthusiasm; fanatic
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archaic a religious visionary, esp one whose zeal for religion is extravagant or unbalanced
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of enthusiast
First recorded in 1600–10; from Greek enthousiastḗs “inspired person, possessed person,” from enthousí(a) “possession by a god” ( see enthusiasm) + -astēs -ast ( def. ) (variant of -istēs -ist after i )
Explanation
When you're an enthusiast, you're all jazzed up about a person or cause. A sports enthusiast is someone who is really passionate and excited about sports. Enthusiast comes from the Greek enthousiastēs, meaning "person inspired by a god." While it doesn't retain those same religious connotations today, an enthusiast is someone who is inspired by a cause or person. A candidate running for office will have a group of enthusiasts working doggedly on his campaign. Often your mother is your biggest enthusiast or supporter. Non-profit organizations are always looking for enthusiasts who can make donations and become patrons of their organization.
Vocabulary lists containing enthusiast
This Week In Culture: November 9–15, 2019
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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:
Salisbury was colorful: A mixed martial arts enthusiast, he once appeared at the agency’s headquarters with his face bruised and eye blackened from a recent bout.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
This route brings people together, including me and my car enthusiast friends, who regularly go on these driving excursions — gas prices be damned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The 63-year-old model-train enthusiast told Dickens, who stopped for a chat, he was there for his best friend, Roy, who died several years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
As a not-so-closet space enthusiast, I find the shift in thinking especially interesting.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
She has the tags for a metal frame bunk bed with mattresses that appears to at one time have belonged to a military enthusiast.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Having previously established contacts within the universe of Insta meme-makers, I messaged a few sloppypasta enthusiasts to see whether they might be willing to speak to their use of these captions.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Soon after, word spread among bird enthusiasts and out came the “birdarazzi.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
With 350 days of sunshine per year, outdoor enthusiasts have plenty of opportunities to play pickleball, hike and golf.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
DR20 includes a wide range of resources for researchers and astronomy enthusiasts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
We ended up picking dead fish and garbage off the Stokum “beach” as part of the fall cleanup organized by my mom and the rest of the Lake Erie enthusiasts.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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.
