Enthusiasm
absorbing or controlling possession of the mind by any interest or pursuit; lively interest:
He shows marked enthusiasm for his studies.
an occupation, activity, or pursuit in which such interest is shown:
Hunting is his latest enthusiasm.
any of various forms of extreme religious devotion, usually associated with intense emotionalism and a break with orthodoxy.
Contemporary Examples
Yet given the window of opportunity in 2008 to say “I do,” I did—with the enthusiasm of the fiercest Bridezilla.
David Jefferson on His Four Gay Marriages and a Legal Victory Against Prop 8 David Jefferson February 6, 2012
The enthusiasm among Democrats for Barack Obama has subsided under the depressing pall of events since 2009.
Good Candidates, Bad Election David Frum August 7, 2012
Waxing (and Waning): enthusiasm is up overall among Republicans and down among Democratic voters in 2012.
Hurricane Sandy, Women, Momentum & More Keys to a Romney Victory Mark McKinnon October 28, 2012
But there’s a curious lack of enthusiasm among those masses ….
Canada’s Wannabe Obama David Frum March 11, 2013
On the campaign trail I learned many lessons, most prominently the enthusiasm with which voters reacted when told my age.
There’s No Better Test for Millennials than the American City Michael Tubbs April 18, 2014
Historical Examples
After the speeches from the opener and the opposition, the debate proceeded with enthusiasm.
The Girls of St. Wode’s L. T. Meade
But her interest in his hobby for once failed to awaken his enthusiasm.
Viviette William J. Locke
No reader could have guessed from my article my enthusiasm as I wrote it.
Our Philadelphia Elizabeth Robins Pennell
Burke slapped his leg with an enthusiasm that might have broken a weaker member.
Within the Law Marvin Dana
To the unity of enthusiasm corresponds the unity of the world, the monistic feeling.
mile Verhaeren Stefan Zweig
noun
ardent and lively interest or eagerness
an object of keen interest; passion
(archaic) extravagant or unbalanced religious fervour
(obsolete) possession or inspiration by a god
n.
c.1600, from Middle French enthousiasme (16c.) and directly from Late Latin enthusiasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos “divine inspiration,” from enthousiazein “be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy,” from entheos “divinely inspired, possessed by a god,” from en “in” (see en- (2)) + theos “god” (see Thea). Acquired a derogatory sense of “excessive religious emotion” (1650s) under the Puritans; generalized sense of “fervor, zeal” (the main modern sense) is first recorded 1716.
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