fanatic 1 of 2

noun

fə-ˈna-tik How to pronounce fanatic (audio)
Definition of fanaticnext
1
as in lover
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something football fanatics are pretty much booked up for weekends from Labor Day to Super Bowl Sunday

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in partisan
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause once he joined the movement, he became a fanatic

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fanatic

2 of 2

adjective

fə-ˈna-ti-kəl How to pronounce fanatic (audio)
variants or fanatical
as in extreme
being very far from the center of public opinion because of her fanatical views, her friends know better than to try to discuss the issues with her

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fanatic
Noun
Gardner’s Big Slick co-host and fellow Chiefs fanatic, Eric Stonestreet and his wife, Lindsay, attended. — Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026 For basketball fanatic Adam Sandler, there was no better way to shake off the pre-wedding jitters than shooting some hoops. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 4 July 2026
Adjective
But in a moment of the director's distress, Kardashian arrives with her soccer-fanatic son, Saint. — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026 Come to Eternia, the mythical home of flying dragon-like creatures, and swords, and sorcery, and spaceships — really, all the stuff a 12-year-old science fiction fanatic loves. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fanatic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fanatic
  1. lover
  2. partisan
  3. extreme
  4. fan
  5. militant
  6. radical
  7. enthusiast
  8. crusader
Noun
  • Guests spill out onto the three-part terrace, with its overhead heaters, barbecue space, and The Cigar Garden, where tobacco lovers can take their pick of Havanas from the humidor and lose themselves in a smoky haze until closing time.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 July 2026
  • For the outdoor lovers the resort offers pickleball and tennis, mountain biking, hiking, climbing, the Arbor Adventure (a 26-element ropes course in the trees), fly fishing, horseback riding, boating, skeet shooting, and more!
    — Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 16 July 2026
Definition of lover
Noun
  • Exhibited for the first time outside of Sarajevo, the churning Socialist Realist homage invokes Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People in figuring partisans heroically overcoming their would-be Nazi aggressors.
    — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026
  • Reynolds tracks the willingness of northern partisans—Carl Schurz, Horace Greeley, Lyman Trumbull, and even Sumner himself—to abandon that cause by the dwindling references to Jamestown and Plymouth.
    — James Traub, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of partisan
Adjective
  • His talent was extreme, but his introverted personality seemed at times to inhibit him on the World Cup stage, where the burden of trying to deliver glory for his country — as Maradona did so memorably in 1986 — weighed so heavily on his shoulders.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • No one knows all the factors behind the population’s recent boom, although researchers point to recent extreme weather events and climate change, perhaps compounded with a rise in shipping traffic over recent decades.
    — Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of extreme
Noun
  • Kris Jenner Kim Kardashian Kylie Jenner Kylie reshared a tribute post from a fan account that posted a video of little Kylie dancing with her grandmother.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 16 July 2026
  • The Panini show may act as a tonic to Italian fans after Italy failed to make the tournament for the third World Cup in a row.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 July 2026
Definition of fan
Noun
  • People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • During that time, four MPs were killed by Irish republican militants between 1979 and 1990.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
Definition of militant
Adjective
  • Simultaneously rendering the past less remote while relishing its radical foreignness, Beard presses readers to grapple with alien ideas, reckon with gaps in their knowledge, and confront complexity.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • Reaching mainstream heights was once unthinkable for this radical, uncompromising act, but Paul sensed new horizons in the recording studio.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 20 July 2026
Definition of radical
Noun
  • Mitchell is a member of Sac Ohana, a social group of local tiki enthusiasts.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 18 July 2026
  • For the impatient sneaker enthusiasts out there, a handful of pairs from Saturday’s Brooklyn event have already found their way onto eBay with asking prices beginning at $800.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 18 July 2026
Definition of enthusiast
Noun
  • Willis, not surprisingly, is happy to be seen as an artistic crusader.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2026
  • Saba masquerades like a CEF crusader whose mission is to eliminate any and every CEF discount.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of crusader

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fanatic
fanatically
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Cite this Entry

“Fanatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fanatic. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of fanatic for Spanish Speakers

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