List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 155

SYNONYMS: fanatic, zealot, enthusiast.
These nouns denote persons who are ardently and usually excessively devoted to a particular cause, subject, or activity.

Fanatic implies the pursuit of a given interest to inordinate and even irrational lengths, often to the exclusion of all other interests: A fanatic is one who can't change his mind.
A zealot is immoderately devoted to a cause or goal and seeks to advance it with passionate fervor: Those zealots are not about to modify their ideas.
Enthusiast can denote a religious zealot holding visionary opinions: It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world, that so few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth. More commonly, however, it merely implies strong interest in something, such as a hobby, and lacks the unfavorable connotations of the other terms: a hockey enthusiast.