Definitions for enthusiasm
ɛnˈθu ziˌæz əmen·thu·si·asm

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. enthusiasmnoun

   a feeling of excitement

2. exuberance, enthusiasm, ebulliencenoun

   overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval

3. enthusiasmnoun

   a lively interest

   "enthusiasm for his program is growing"

Wiktionary(3.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. enthusiasmnoun

   Possession by a god; divine inspiration or frenzy.

2. enthusiasmnoun

   Intensity of feeling; excited interest or eagerness.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Enthusiasmnoun

   inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power; ecstasy; hence, a conceit of divine possession and revelation, or of being directly subject to some divine impulse

   Etymology: [Gr. , fr. to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. , , inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.]

2. Enthusiasmnoun

   a state of impassioned emotion; transport; elevation of fancy; exaltation of soul; as, the poetry of enthusiasm

   Etymology: [Gr. , fr. to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. , , inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.]

3. Enthusiasmnoun

   enkindled and kindling fervor of soul; strong excitement of feeling on behalf of a cause or a subject; ardent and imaginative zeal or interest; as, he engaged in his profession with enthusiasm

   Etymology: [Gr. , fr. to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. , , inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.]

4. Enthusiasmnoun

   lively manifestation of joy or zeal

   Etymology: [Gr. , fr. to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. , , inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.]

Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Enthusiasm

   Enthusiasm originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. Johnson's Dictionary, the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, defines enthusiasm as "a vain belief of private revelation; a vain confidence of divine favour or communication." In current English vernacular the word simply means intense enjoyment, interest, or approval. Originally, an enthusiast was a person possessed by a god. Applied by the Greeks to manifestations of divine possession, by Apollo, or by Dionysus, the term enthusiasm was also used in a transferred or figurative sense. Socrates taught that the inspiration of poets is a form of enthusiasm. Its uses were confined to a belief in religious inspiration, or to intense religious fervour or emotion. Thus, a Syrian sect of the 4th century was known as the Enthusiasts. They believed that "by perpetual prayer, ascetic practices and contemplation, man could become inspired by the Holy Spirit, in spite of the ruling evil spirit, which the fall had given to him". From their belief in the efficacy of prayer, they were also known as Euchites.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Enthusiasm

   en-thū′zi-azm, n. intense interest: intensity of feeling: passionate zeal.—n. Enthū′siast, one inspired by enthusiasm: one who admires or loves intensely.—adjs. Enthusias′tic, -al, filled with enthusiasm; zealous: ardent.—adv. Enthusias′tically. [Through L., from Gr. enthusiasmos, a god-inspired zeal—enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god—en, in, theos, a god.]

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. enthusiasm

   The great hill-climber.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. enthusiasm

   An energetic passion or focus.

   Her enthusiasm to unite people and promote working together for the optimum health, human rights, animal rights and shared prosperity of everyone was the truth and everyone knew and supported her honesty and truth.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 15, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Feeling
   • Interest
   • Spirit

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'enthusiasm' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3291

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'enthusiasm' in Nouns Frequency: #1379

How to pronounce enthusiasm?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say enthusiasm in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of enthusiasm in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of enthusiasm in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of enthusiasm in a Sentence

1. Lauren Riihimaki:

   I was on the floor of the expo hall last year and I wasn't even sure who this person was, and I don't think half the people did either, but watching one person start freaking out, and then everyone else is freaking out, and then it's a mob. It's so cool to see the enthusiasm behind creators.

2. Dante Scala:

   They were pretty sure based on demographics -- based on education, on social class -- they knew what areas to hit. The question will be for Sanders, on primary night, if it's a close battle, can he do the same thing, and will he know where his votes are coming from? one out of four Democratic primary voters has actually made up their mind, and so the question is, how do you start to try and anchor some of that enthusiasm and make sure to cement that?

3. Walter Jones:

   Georgia is seeing record turnout for early voting because of excitement and enthusiasm of the upcoming election, long lines are to be expected -- voters need to be aware of all of their options including three weeks of early voting, no-excuse absentee and in-person voting day of the election.

4. Miha Hribenik:

   Once the cameras are switched off and the enthusiasm over Friday's summit declaration -- which promises a peaceful and nuclear-free Korean peninsula -- subsides, both sides will need to roll up their sleeves and get to work, we continue to maintain our long-standing view that North Korea under Kim Jong Un has no intention of unilaterally denuclearizing without the kind of security guarantees North Korea and the US can not realistically provide.

5. Amy Ridenour:

   The three adults in the New Jersey case may all be excellent parents individually, but they should not have tried to create a family together, surely they knew at the outset that their ‘family’ had unequal support for one of the three adults and was inherently unstable as a result. Possibly their enthusiasm for raising a child caused them to overlook this fact, but it could not be overlooked for 18 years.

Images & Illustrations of enthusiasm

Popularity rank by frequency of use