Fanaticized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. To inspire or cause someone to become intensely enthusiastic or excessively devoted to a particular cause or belief, often to the point of extreme passion or zeal
2. The process of instilling fervent enthusiasm and unwavering commitment toward an idea or group, resulting in heightened emotional involvement or radical support
3. Act of transforming a person's attitude into one marked by obsessive dedication and uncompromising loyalty, frequently leading to fanatical behavior and strong advocacy

Etymology: The verb "fanaticize" is a plain English formation: "fanatic" plus the verbal suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make into or treat as." The base word "fanatic" came into English from French "fanatique," which was itself borrowed from Latin "fānāticus." That Latin adjective meant "of a temple" or "inspired by a god," and it derived from "fānum," a shrine or sacred place. The original sense was not a criticism: a fānāticus was someone possessed or stirred by divine frenzy, as in the ecstatic prophets of the temple. The sense drifted over the centuries until "fanatic" meant someone wildly zealous in a cause, often with a suggestion of excess or blind commitment. Its use as a verb followed from that negative sense, so "fanaticize" describes turning someone into such a zealot. The root "-ize" came into English through Middle French and Late Latin, from Greek "-izein," a verb-forming ending.

Synonyms: radicalized, extremized, zealotized

Antonyms: moderated, tempered