aficionado
noun
Did you know?
Before there were nerds, geeks, stans, fanboys, or fangirls, there were aficionados. But not long before, relatively speaking. English borrowed aficionado in the early 1800s directly from Spanish, making a noun out of the past participle of the Spanish verb aficionar, which means "to inspire affection." Nerd, geek, and the rest can sometimes imply that the devotee in question is overdoing their ardor, but aficionado (which traces further back to the same Latin ancestor that gave us the English word affection) is a more neutral descriptor for someone with an abiding and thoughtful devotion to an interest or activity.
Examples of aficionado in a Sentence
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 30 June 2008
The quality varies with the individual authors, but both history buffs and aficionados of literary criticism will find food for thought here.
—Publishers Weekly, 8 Jan. 2001
When film aficionados speak of film noir, they usually refer to the look and attitude of certain films. As critics have found, such films do not form a genre; at best, they suggest a movement.
—Bonnie Smothers, Booklist, 15 Nov. 1999
Beyond scuba diving, North Carolina's Crystal Coast and Cape Lookout are famous for fishing. Although I'm not an aficionado myself, prospective anglers need only walk the docks of Moorehead City to book inshore or Gulf Stream excursions …
—James Sturz, New York Times, 26 Apr. 1998
an aficionado of the sci-fi series who has seen all the movies several times
Robert Eggers, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
Very little of Kiss’ music could be considered jazzy, but drummer Peter Criss, a Gene Krupa aficionado, could swing the band when the occasion called for it.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
Craft beer aficionados have a new destination on the horizon as the Brass Tap will open its first Orange County location, readying to pour a roster of local suds in Anaheim Hills.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025
Couples, girlfriends, and wellness aficionados were shuffling from pool to plunge, catching up, sitting close, and enjoying the experience together.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aficionado
Cite this Entry
“Aficionado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aficionado. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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aficionado
noun
Spanish, derived from Latin affectio "affection"
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