What does fanaticize mean?
To 'fanaticize' means to make someone a fanatic, or to become one—to fill a person with an intense, unreasoning devotion to a cause, belief, or pursuit. The verb is rare and largely confined to formal or literary contexts such as political commentary, religious history, and psychological writing. Its connotations are almost entirely negative: unlike words celebrating healthy passion, 'fanaticize' implies zeal that has tipped into excess and lost touch with reason, which is why it appears most often in discussions of cults, propaganda, extremism, and obsessive behaviour. The word derives ultimately from the Latin 'fanaticus', meaning inspired by a temple deity and hence frenzied or mad—a lineage it shares with the more familiar nouns 'fanatic' and 'fanaticism'. Writers reach for it when they wish to describe the deliberate manufacture of obsession in others, making it a precise and evocative term for anyone studying how ordinary enthusiasm curdles into dangerous devotion.
verbTo make or become fanatic; to fill with extravagant, excessive, or unreasoning enthusiasm, especially for a single idea, cause, or pursuit.
- To make a person fanatic; to instil in someone an excessive, unreasoning enthusiasm for something.
- (Less commonly) to act or behave like a fanatic oneself.
"The movement began to fanaticize its followers, demanding total devotion to the cause."
"Propagandists have long sought to fanaticize entire populations against their neighbours."
"He tended to fanaticize over whatever new hobby he discovered, devoting every waking hour to it."
'Fanaticize' traces back to Latin 'fanaticus'—a word for someone 'inspired by a temple deity', which is why fanatics were once thought of as touched by madness rather than mere enthusiasm.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fanaticize
The word derives from the English adjective 'fanatic', which itself comes from the Latin 'fanaticus'—meaning 'of a temple' or 'inspired by a deity'—rooted ultimately in 'fanum', a sacred shrine. In Latin usage the term described frenzied religious inspiration, which explains why early English writers associated the adjective with madness and extravagance. The verb form arose later as part of a broader seventeenth- and eighteenth-century fashion for Latinate '-ize' derivatives, alongside cognates such as 'fanaticism' and 'fanatical'.
Related word forms
How fanaticize is actually used
The word is rare in everyday conversation and belongs chiefly to formal or literary writing on politics, religion, and psychology. It carries a distinctly negative connotation, implying that the zeal involved is excessive or irrational rather than admirable.
Easily confused with fanaticize
A fanatic is the noun denoting a person with obsessive zeal, whereas 'fanaticize' is the verb describing the act of making someone—or becoming—that way.