enthusiast
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
someone who loves a specific hobby or subject and spends a lot of time on it.
a person filled with or guided by enthusiasm for a specific pursuit or interest.
Simple“As a car enthusiast, he spends every weekend working on his vintage engine.”
In context“The local gardening enthusiast spent years cultivating rare orchids that were previously thought impossible to grow in this climate.”
UsageOften preceded by a specific noun describing the interest, such as 'fitness enthusiast' or 'tech enthusiast'.
“Cars queued on coastal roads as eclipse enthusiasts gathered on beaches from Whitstable to Goring-by-Sea.”
“Large crowds at viewing sites across the UK and Europe reacted with gasps and cheers, with astronomy enthusiasts saying it served as a reminder of how "amazing" the Universe is.”
From Ancient Greek ἐνθουσιαστής (enthousiastḗs, “an enthusiast, a zealot”), from ἐνθουσιάζειν (enthousiázein, “(intransitive) be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy, (transitive) inspire”): see enthusiasm.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.