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fanatic

 - 4 dictionary results

fa⋅nat⋅ic

  [fuh-nat-ik]
Use fanatic in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.
–adjective
2. fanatical.
Origin:
1515–25; < L fānāticus pertaining to a temple, inspired by orgiastic rites, frantic, equiv. to fān(um) temple + -āticus, equiv. to -āt(us) -ate 1 + -icus -ic

Synonyms:
1. enthusiast, zealot, bigot, hothead, militant. 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.

fa⋅nat⋅i⋅cal

  [fuh-nat-i-kuhl]
–adjective
motivated or characterized by an extreme, uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.
Also, fanatic.

Origin:
1540–50; fanatic + -al 1

Related forms:
fa⋅nat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
fa⋅nat⋅i⋅cal⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
enthusiastic, zealous, frenzied, rabid. See intolerant, radical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fanatic
fa·nat·ic   (fə-nāt'ĭk)   
n.  A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.
adj.  Fanatical.

[Latin fānāticus, inspired by orgiastic rites, pertaining to a temple, from fānum, temple; see dhēs- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

fanatic 
c.1525, "insane person," from L. fanaticus "mad, enthusiastic, inspired by a god," originally, "pertaining to a temple," from fanum "temple," related to festus "festive" (see feast). Current sense of "extremely zealous," especially in religion, is first attested 1647. The noun is from 1650, originally in religious sense, of Nonconformists.
"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." [Winston Churchill]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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