Faddist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who enthusiastically promotes and follows fleeting trends often uncritically and with fervor
2. A person who shows strong adherence to and passion for temporary popular interests and trends without much scrutiny
3. A person who avidly embraces and supports transient fads or fashions while lacking critical evaluation of their significance

Etymology: Faddist is a plain formation: the noun "fad" with the suffix "-ist" added to it. "Fad" is itself the older and more interesting half. It first turned up in English as a word for a small, idiosyncratic whim or hobby, the sort of pet interest a person pursued for a while and then dropped, and only later came to mean a craze shared by many people at once. The suffix is the one that turns a thing into a person who holds to it. English took "-ist" through Old French and Latin from Greek "-istēs", the ending used for practitioners and adherents, so a "violinist" plays the violin and a "royalist" backs the crown. Attaching it to "fad" gives a person who follows fads, someone who adopts each new enthusiasm as it comes along.

Synonyms: trendsetter, enthusiast, follower, obsessive, craze supporter

Antonyms: traditionalist, conservative, nonconformist, sceptic, realist