What does enthuse mean?
"Enthuse" is a verb meaning to express eager enjoyment, interest, or approval about something. When people enthuse, they talk with visible excitement and warmth — they rave, gush, or speak glowingly of whatever has captured their admiration. The word typically appears with the prepositions "about" or "over," as in "reviewers enthused about the novel's vivid prose." Although "enthuse" began life in the nineteenth century as a back-formation from the noun "enthusiasm" — a process some critics dismissed as illegitimate — it is now fully accepted in standard usage on both sides of the Atlantic, though a slightly conversational flavor clings to it. It belongs to a small family that includes "enthusiasm," "enthusiast," and "enthusiastic." Concise and vivid, "enthuse" captures not merely approval but the animated, contagious expression of it, making it a useful alternative to flatter words like "praise" when energy and delight are central to the meaning.
verbTo express eager enjoyment, interest, or approval about something.
- To express eager interest, enjoyment, or approval about something.
"She enthused about the new restaurant for weeks after her first visit."
"The critics enthused over the director's debut film, calling it an instant classic."
"He enthused to anyone who would listen about his plans to cycle across the country."
Language purists once sneered at "enthuse" as a vulgar upstart — a verb illegally carved out of the noun "enthusiasm" — yet it has thrived for nearly two centuries anyway.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of enthuse
"Enthuse" is a back-formation: instead of deriving from older roots directly, it was created in the nineteenth century by trimming the noun "enthusiasm" down to what looked like a verb. "Enthusiasm" itself descends from Greek "enthousiasmos," from "entheos," meaning "having a god within" (from "en," "in," plus "theos," "god") — originally referring to divine possession or inspiration before it came to denote intense eagerness. The same Greek root underlies "enthusiast" and "enthusiastic." Despite early criticism of its formation, "enthuse" became firmly established in both British and American English.
Related word forms
How enthuse is actually used
"Enthuse" is a standard, well-established verb in both British and American English, though some traditionalists still regard it as informal because of its back-formation origin. It is frequently used with the prepositions "about" and "over." The passive-sounding construction "be enthused about something" is common in speech but often avoided in careful writing, where "be enthusiastic about" is preferred.