fanatic
Americannoun
-
fanatics
plural
adjective
noun
-
a person whose enthusiasm or zeal for something is extreme or beyond normal limits
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informal a person devoted to a particular hobby or pastime; fan
a jazz fanatic
adjective
Usage
What does fanatic mean? A fanatic is a person with an extreme and often unquestioning enthusiasm, devotion, or zeal for something, such as a religion, political stance, or cause. This sense of the word is typically used negatively to imply that someone takes such devotion too far, as in They’re considered religious fanatics due to their extreme practices. Close synonyms are extremist, radical, and zealot. Other times, fanatic is not used negatively but instead simply refers to someone who is extreme in their devotion or enthusiasm for an interest or hobby. For example, calling someone a sports fanatic means they’re an extremely enthusiastic fan of sports. In fact, the word fan is a shortening of fanatic. Less commonly, fanatic can be used as an adjective meaning the same thing as fanatical—having and motivated by extreme enthusiasm or devotion. Example: We dismiss them as fanatics, but their beliefs may be more widespread than we think.
Synonym Usage
Fanatic, zealot, militant, devotee refer to persons showing more than ordinary support for, adherence to, or interest in a cause, point of view, or activity. Fanatic and zealot both suggest excessive or overweening devotion to a cause or belief. Fanatic further implies unbalanced or obsessive behavior: a wild-eyed fanatic. Zealot, only slightly less unfavorable in implication than fanatic, implies single-minded partisanship: a tireless zealot for tax reform. Militant stresses vigorous, aggressive support for or opposition to a plan or ideal and suggests a combative stance. Devotee is a milder term than any of the foregoing, suggesting enthusiasm but not to the exclusion of other interests or possible points of view: a jazz devotee.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fanatic
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin fānāticus “pertaining to a temple, inspired by a divinity, frantic,” equivalent to fānum “temple” + -āticus, equivalent to -āt(us) -ate 1 + -icus -ic
Explanation
If you’re apt to come off as a little zany and express extreme enthusiasm for a particular idea or thing, you may be described as a fanatic. "She’s a real vegetable fanatic; I’ve never seen someone so enthusiastic about gardening methods. From the Latin fanaticus meaning “mad, enthusiastic,” the noun fanatic means “zealous person.” You know how right before the family gathers for Thanksgiving each year, everyone warns each other not to get your Uncle Jimmy started on the role of government in everyday life? That’s because he’s a fanatic, and as Winston Churchill so aptly phrased it, “A fanatic is someone who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”
Vocabulary lists containing fanatic
I Am Malala
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"The Sniper" by Liam O’Flaherty
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The Suffix -ic, Part 1
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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:
The house is opposite Gwen's where Bryn would frequently pop in for an omelette, with its sale coming just months after a fellow fanatic bought Doris's home on the same street.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
"I became a soccer fanatic after that. And I'm hoping the same thing for my nephew" this time, he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
Keenan, a gym owner and fitness fanatic from Rossett, Wrexham, has very little memory of the day of his collapse and only knows what happened because others have filled in the blanks.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
I really love all things plant-based, and I’m a very big music fanatic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Ordinarily he was a regular kid, minding his own business with no tinge of the crusader or fanatic about him.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
Wembanyama’s handpicked fanatics were called the Jackals, and their orders from their leader were simple.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Online fanatics of true crime have parsed through information about the Nancy Guthrie case, filling in the limited details with rumor, innuendo and conspiracy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
The day before, I’d heard something similar from Catherine Spindler, president of Sephora Europe and the Middle East, who was gearing up for SEPHORiA, the company’s multicity event for beauty fanatics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
For Disney fanatics, the Disney Visa from Chase has standard offerings.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
She took us there and we were exhibited to a lot of Spiritualist fanatics.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
