fanatical

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /fəˈnætɪkəl/ UK /fəˈnætɪkəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
filled with excessive, uncritical zeal for a cause

His fanatical devotion to the team bordered on obsession.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · filled with excessive,... zealous fervent rabid extreme frenzied obsessiveoverzealouspassionate

Opposites

apathetic indifferent moderate dispassionate

Word family

Derived forms fanatically

Related forms fanatic fanaticism fan

Etymology

From 'fanatic' + the adjectival suffix '-al'. 'Fanatic' is from Latin 'fānāticus' ('of a temple, inspired by a deity, frenzied'), from 'fānum' ('temple').

fānāticus Latin fānum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# fanatical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** fəˈnætɪkəl
**IPA (UK):** fəˈnætɪkəl

## Meanings
1. filled with excessive, uncritical zeal for a cause

## Examples
- His fanatical devotion to the team bordered on obsession.

## Synonyms
- zealous
- fervent
- rabid
- extreme
- frenzied
- obsessive
- overzealous
- passionate

## Antonyms
- apathetic
- indifferent
- moderate
- dispassionate

## Derived Forms
- fanatically

## Related Forms
- fanatic
- fanaticism
- fan

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fānāticus
- Root: fānum

## Etymology
From 'fanatic' + the adjectival suffix '-al'. 'Fanatic' is from Latin 'fānāticus' ('of a temple, inspired by a deity, frenzied'), from 'fānum' ('temple').

## AI Etymology
Fanatical comes from 'fanatic' + the adjectival suffix '-al'. 'Fanatic' is from Latin 'fānāticus' ('of a temple, inspired by a deity, frenzied'), from 'fānum' ('temple'). Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as an adjective meaning "filled with excessive, uncritical zeal for a cause", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as fanatically and related forms such as fanatic, fanaticism, and fan, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin fānāticus and Latin fānum, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by zealous, fervent, rabid, and extreme on one side and contrasts such as apathetic, indifferent, and moderate on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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fanatical

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