Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: fanaticus 'made wild or mad by the gods', from fanum 'religious building'

fanatic

 noun
     
fa‧nat‧ic [countable]
1 someone who has extreme political or religious ideas and is often dangerous [= extremist]:
fanatics who represent a real danger to democracy
2 someone who likes a particular thing or activity very much [= enthusiast]:
a health food fanatic
a fitness fanatic
—fanatical adjective:
a fanatical sportsman
He was fanatical about tidiness.
—fanatically adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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