What does fruitarian mean?
A fruitarian is someone who follows a fruitarian diet: one composed principally or exclusively of fruits. Many fruitarians also permit nuts, seeds, and foods that are botanically fruits even if culinarily considered vegetables — tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados, for example — while excluding grains, legumes, animal products, and most other food groups. The term sits at the strictest end of the spectrum of plant-based diets, beyond veganism, and is often discussed alongside debates about nutritional adequacy, since such a limited diet can make it difficult to obtain sufficient protein, B vitamins, and certain minerals. The word functions as both a noun naming the person and, less commonly, as a modifier describing the diet itself. Though relatively rare in everyday use, it appears regularly in health journalism, dietary literature, and conversations about unusual eating practices.
nounA person whose diet consists chiefly or entirely of fruits, including in some cases nuts, seeds, and other botanical fruits that are conventionally treated as vegetables.
- A person who eats a diet consisting wholly or almost entirely of fruits, sometimes supplemented with nuts, seeds, and other items botanically classed as fruit.
"As a committed fruitarian, she ate nothing all week but apples, mangoes, and the occasional handful of almonds."
"The restaurant's chef, himself a fruitarian, designed an entire tasting menu around ripe seasonal produce."
"Critics of the fruitarian lifestyle warn that such a restrictive diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies without careful planning."
Standard plural form; used when referring to multiple people following the diet.
"The retreat attracted fruitarians from around the world for its annual harvest gathering."
Fruitarians take 'an apple a day' literally — some eat little else for years at a stretch.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does fruitarian come from?
Fruitarian was coined in English in the late nineteenth century, combining the noun 'fruit' — ultimately from Latin fructus, meaning enjoyment or produce — with the suffix '-arian', long used to form words describing adherents of diets or doctrines, as in vegetarian. The same Latin root gives us fructify, fructose, and fruitful. It arose within the nineteenth-century dietary reform movements that also produced vegetarianism.
How fruitarian is actually used
Fruitarian is a neutral descriptive term, though it is often used in discussions of extreme or highly restrictive diets. It is a niche word compared with vegan or vegetarian, and speakers may need to explain it on first use.
Easily confused with fruitarian
A vegetarian excludes meat and fish but typically eats vegetables, grains, and dairy, whereas a fruitarian restricts the diet far more severely to fruits (and sometimes nuts and seeds).