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:
Roosevelt, a football enthusiast who feared the game might be abolished, summoned leaders from the college football powerhouses of the day—Harvard, Yale and Princeton—to the White House and demanded reform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
This route brings people together, including me and my car enthusiast friends, who regularly go on these driving excursions — gas prices be damned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
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
It's hardly a secret our new king has always been an enthusiast for the Nazis.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
DR20 includes a wide range of resources for researchers and astronomy enthusiasts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
But this design typically lacks the fuller, richer sound that V-8 enthusiasts love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Experts say enthusiasts should not to look directly at the Sun without specialist glasses.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
But Cohen was alarmed to learn that his discovery was now being promoted by legions of longevity seekers, fitness enthusiasts and wellness influencers as “exercise in a bottle.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Albert Ayler was an amazing, avant-garde saxophonist known only to the most die-hard jazz enthusiasts.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
