What does "enthusiasm" mean?
Enthusiasm: A state of impassioned emotion; transport; elevation of fancy; exaltation of soul; as, the poetry of enthusiasm. Resolutions adopted in enthusiasm are often repented of when excitement has been succeeded by the wearing duties of hard everyday routine. Froude. Exhibiting the seeming contradiction of susceptibility to enthusiasm and calculating shrewdness. Bancroft.
Additional senses
- 2.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. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Emerson.
- 3.Lively manifestation of joy or zeal. Philip was greeted with a tumultuous enthusiasm. Prescott.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00