devotee
Americannoun
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a person who is greatly devoted to something.
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a person who is extremely devoted to a religion; a follower.
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an enthusiastic follower or fan.
He's a devotee of jazz.
noun
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a person ardently enthusiastic about or devoted to something, such as a sport or pastime
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a zealous follower of a religion
Synonym Usage
See fanatic.
Etymology
Origin of devotee
Explanation
Devotee is a fancy word for "fan." Some people are superfans of Katy Perry. Others save their love and adoration for Mozart. Either way, they are huge devotees of the musicians they love. People are called devotees because they're particularly devoted to something. Be it hot yoga, fluffy cats or chocolate cake, a devotee is an ardent follower. In the traditional sense this word was reserved for the extremely devout, who were devoted to their religion. But these days you can be a devotee of just about anything.
Vocabulary lists containing devotee
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech
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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.
One devotee was the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, who recorded a cover of Busby’s song “Lost.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Once upon a time, Jenrick was seen as a 'Cameroon', a devotee of David Cameron's Waitrose-style politics: modern, socially liberal, middle-class-friendly.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
And that is precisely why I, a longtime devotee of the city, found myself at the Luxor for a three-day stint in October.
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025
Sparks, who The Times interviewed over Zoom from his home in New Bern, N.C., had been a Shyamalan devotee for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
By age twelve, I was a devotee of the political columnist Mary McGrory and the muckraker Jack Anderson.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
