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:
As a not-so-closet space enthusiast, I find the shift in thinking especially interesting.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
During the process, volunteers have contributed to the project as well as Lego enthusiast Steph Porter and her husband who helped plan and design it.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Cuthbert confessed that she was unaware of Fortune’s books before taking up the role, but has since become an enthusiast of Fortune’s works.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
Chaired and controlled by Bitcoin enthusiast Michael Saylor, Strategy holds 847,000 coins, or about 4% of the total supply of the cryptocurrency.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
A speed enthusiast knows that everything he says or does is brilliant.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
In the weeks that L.A. has hosted the World Cup, international soccer enthusiasts have flocked to big brands from the area, often in large groups wearing their countries’ jerseys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Now, the value of old Land Rovers is rocketing as a new generation of enthusiasts falls in love with this simple off-roader.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The number of social-media groups and threads predicated on the opinion that Bowlero/Lucky Strike absolutely sucks testifies to the number of both serious bowlers and casual enthusiasts who see the corporation as an invasive rot.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
But as Cara Giaimo writes for Slate, algae enthusiasts are finding tremendous joy in all the muck.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
Mai is looking at a catalog for swimsuit enthusiasts.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
