fanatical
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does fanatical mean? Fanatical means having and being motivated by an extreme and often unquestioning enthusiasm, devotion, or zeal for something, such as a religion, political stance, or cause.A person who shows such extreme enthusiasm or devotion is called a fanatic. Sometimes, fanatic is 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.Fanatical can be used to describe either a kind of fanatic or such a person’s beliefs or behavior.Example: We dismiss these extreme beliefs by calling them fanatical, but they may be more widespread than we think.
Related Words
See intolerant, radical.
Other Word Forms
- fanatically adverb
- fanaticalness noun
- nonfanatical adjective
- nonfanatically adverb
- unfanatical adjective
- unfanatically adverb
Etymology
Origin of fanatical
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.
To all but his most fanatical followers, it’s clear he possesses a megalomaniacal personality and violent temperament.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted Friday "there will be nerves" when India open their T20 World Cup campaign in front of more than 30,000 fanatical home supporters in Mumbai, but vowed to give them "entertainment".
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
After the loss at Selhurst Park, the trip to Istanbul was arguably the last thing Liverpool needed, walking into this hostile, fanatical atmosphere that is a ready-built stage for sporting theatre.
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025
Ms. Lucio, as the often dismissive Isidora, and Ms. Verson, as the frantically fanatical Susie, have the most overtly comic roles and make the most of their material.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2025
At dinner Pearl talked about the Richardsons as if they were a TV show she was fanatical about.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
