Fanatical

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /fəˈnætɪkəl/

Definitions

1. Exhibiting extreme and uncritical devotion to a cause, belief, or person, often to the point of irrationality or intolerance toward those who disagree
2. Characterized by obsessive, uncompromising commitment to an ideology or pursuit that overrides reason and respect for opposing viewpoints
3. Marked by fervent, single-minded dedication to a cause or belief system that dismisses dissent and embraces extreme measures

Etymology: Ancient Romans used the Latin "fanaticus" for someone seized by the frenzy of a god, and it was not necessarily an insult. The word comes from "fanum," a temple or sacred place, so a "fanaticus" was a person connected with a shrine: a priest, a soothsayer, or a worshipper whose ecstatic trance was taken as divine speech. Over time the emphasis moved from the god who possessed the person to the wildness of the person himself. By the time the word reached English, it was already being used for excessive religious zeal, and the sense of blind, uncompromising partisanship grew from there. The noun "fanatic" came first, and the adjective was formed from it. The clipped form "fan," meaning an ardent enthusiast of a sport or performer, is a shortening of that same noun, so the modern sense of devotion carries a trace of the original idea of being possessed.

Synonyms: zealous, extreme

Antonyms: apathetic, indifferent