Definition of FANATIC

fanatic

Plural: fanatics

Noun

  • A person filled with excessive and uncritical zeal for something.
  • a person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause); --Winston Churchill
    • "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"
  • A person who is zealously enthusiastic for some cause.

Adjective Satellite

  • marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea

Adj

  • Fanatical.
  • Showing evidence of possession by a god or demon; frenzied, overzealous.

Examples

  • A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim. —George Santayana
  • A zealot can't change his mind. A fanatic can't change his mind and won't change the subject. —Winston Churchill (attributed)
  • He was a Scrabble fanatic, meticulously studying word lists for hours.

Origin / Etymology

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

Scrabble Score: 12

fanatic: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
fanatic: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
fanatic: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

fanatic: valid Words With Friends Word