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   fanatic

   /fəˈnatɪk/

   noun

   • 1. a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause: "religious fanatics" Similar zealotextremistmilitantdogmatistdevoteesectarianbigotchauvinistpartisanradicaldiehardultraactivistapologistadherentvisionaryinformal:maniaccrankfreakwackadoowackadoodleOpposite moderate
   • ▪ a person with an obsessive interest in and enthusiasm for a particular activity: "a fitness fanatic" Similar enthusiastfandevoteeloveraddictinformal:nutmaniacfiendfreakjunkiebugcrankbuff-heada great one forgeekjock

   adjective

   • 1. filled with or expressing excessive zeal: "his eyes had a fanatic iciness"

   Word Origin mid 16th century (as an adjective): from French fanatique or Latin fanaticus ‘of a temple, inspired by a god’, from fanum ‘temple’. The adjective originally described behaviour that might result from possession by a god or demon, hence the earliest sense of the noun ‘a religious maniac’ (mid 17th century).

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • F

     4

   • A

     1

   • N

     1

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • I

     1

   • C

     3

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