Fanatic

//fəˈnæt.ɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who is zealously enthusiastic for some cause.

    "The reclusive tycoon calling himself the Illusive Man is a human nationalist focused on advancing human interests, whatever the cost to non-humans. The Citadel Council regards him as a fanatic posing a serious threat to galactic security."

  2. 2
    a person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause) wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Fanatical.

    "But Faith, fanatic Faith, once wedded fast / To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last."

  2. 2
    Showing evidence of possession by a god or demon; frenzied, overzealous. obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
accepteraddictaficionadoalienalieneardent

Example

More examples

"A fanatic threw a bomb at the king's coach."

Etymology

First attested in 1525. Learned borrowing from Latin fānāticus (“of a temple, divinely inspired, frenzied”), from fānum (“temple”). Influenced by French fanatique.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.