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
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.
“I’ve always had that balance of being an environmentalist and a car enthusiast and trying to find cars that were both economical and fun,” Ghazikhanian said.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
The mustached southerner, yachting enthusiast and philanthropist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
‘Storage Wars’ star Darrell Sheets, an antiques enthusiast known by fans of the A&E series as ‘The Gambler,’ was found dead on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
“I’m a technology enthusiast; I gain a lot from these types of things,” McCoy said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 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
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.
