ENTHUSIASM

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does enthusiasm mean? 

• ENTHUSIASM (noun)
  The noun ENTHUSIASM has 3 senses:

1. a feeling of excitement

2. overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval

3. a lively interest

  Familiarity information: ENTHUSIASM used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENTHUSIASM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A feeling of excitement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("enthusiasm" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "enthusiasm"):

gusto; relish; zest; zestfulness (vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment)

avidity; avidness; eagerness; keenness (a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something)

exuberance (joyful enthusiasm)

technophilia (enthusiasm for new technology)

Derivation:

enthusiastic (having or showing great excitement and interest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Overflowing with eager enjoyment or approval

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

ebullience; enthusiasm; exuberance

Hypernyms ("enthusiasm" is a kind of...):

life; liveliness; spirit; sprightliness (animation and energy in action or expression)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "enthusiasm"):

lyricism (unrestrained and exaggerated enthusiasm)

madness; rabidity; rabidness (unrestrained excitement or enthusiasm)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A lively interest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

enthusiasm for his program is growing

Hypernyms ("enthusiasm" is a kind of...):

interest; involvement (a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "enthusiasm"):

Anglomania (an excessive enthusiasm for all things English)

balletomania (extraordinary enthusiasm for ballets)

Derivation:

enthusiastic (having or showing great excitement and interest)

 Context examples 

At least half of their enthusiasm to-day was due to that.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He spoke without enthusiasm; and the first man, limping into the milky stream that foamed over the rocks, vouchsafed no reply.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“Are they not fresh and beautiful?” I cried with all the enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He acquiesced in all her decisions, caught all her enthusiasm; and long before his visit concluded, they conversed with the familiarity of a long-established acquaintance.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

"What delightful enthusiasm!" and he leaned against a tall urn with an air of entire satisfaction.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It was perfectly delightful to behold with what enthusiasm Mr. Peggotty became inspired when he thought of his little favourite.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

They talked with fire and enthusiasm, the intellectual stimulant stirring them as he had seen drink and anger stir other men.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Will you smile at the enthusiasm I express concerning this divine wanderer?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

While you have the high-octane planet Mars behind you in January, make your list, check it twice, and go after what you want with great enthusiasm.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"It's just the very biggest thing that I ever heard of!" said I, though it was my journalistic rather than my scientific enthusiasm that was roused.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)