enthusiast

noun

en·​thu·​si·​ast in-ˈthü-zē-ˌast 

-əst, 

en-

also -ˈthyü-

: a person filled with enthusiasm: such as

a

: one who is ardently attached to a cause, object, or pursuit

a sports car enthusiast

b

: one who tends to become ardently absorbed in an interest

Synonyms of enthusiast

• lover
• fan
• sucker
• fanatic

Examples of enthusiast in a Sentence

skiing enthusiasts can't wait for the first snowfall of the season

Recent Examples on the Web

Sabini and Goater spent time at the Davis Bike Collective, a nonprofit where volunteers teach Davis' thousands of bike enthusiasts to fix up and even build their own bikes. —Ashley Sharp, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026

Fitness enthusiasts will enjoy the more than 1,700-square-foot gym along with daily classes like beach yoga and water sports like kayaks and standing paddle boards. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2026

On Sunday, April 26, enthusiasts can get up-close looks at more than 2,000 fantastic flying machines and vintage autos when this event takes over the Half Moon Bay Airport. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026

Though as filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, a major VHS collector and advocate, points out, there are plenty of physical media enthusiasts for whom the older format is a bridge too far. —Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "person claiming to receive divine communication or inspiration, member of a putative early Christian sect making such claims," borrowed from Late Greek enthousiastḗs, going back to Greek, "person possessed by a god," from enthousiad-, stem of enthousiázein "to be inspired or possessed by a god" + -tēs, agent suffix — more at enthusiasm

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for enthusiast

• chloroplast
• epiblast
• opencast
• overcast
• protoplast
• rebroadcast
• telecast
• trophoblast
• ultrafast
• unsurpassed
• aghast
• amassed

Kids Definition

enthusiast

noun

en·​thu·​si·​ast in-ˈth(y)ü-zē-ˌast 

-əst

: a person filled with enthusiasm