aficionado
Americannoun
plural
aficionadosnoun
-
an ardent supporter or devotee
a jazz aficionado
-
a devotee of bullfighting
Etymology
Origin of aficionado
First recorded in 1835–45; from Spanish: literally, “amateur,” past participle -ado ( see -ate 1) of aficionar “to engender affection,” equivalent to afición affection 1 + -ar infinitive suffix
Explanation
If you really like something and make it your business to study up on its history and characteristics, you could be called an aficionado of that subject. This sort of funny-looking word might seem like it needs a second “f,” but it really doesn’t, and you should hold out on the temptation to add another one. (The single “f” spelling is a result of the word’s Spanish heritage.) The word aficionado implies serious study and fervent interest, but you can think of it as just a fancy way to say fan. You could call yourself a football aficionado, for example, if you think that sounds more impressive than just saying you’re a football fan.
Vocabulary lists containing aficionado
This Week in Words: September 22 - 28, 2018
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The Night Circus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If he’s an aficionado of fiction, there’s quite a few in the latest Booker Prize shortlist.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 17, 2026
Yang, a car aficionado, wanted to give her 2-year-old son a close-up look at the factory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026
I’m more aficionado than maniac, but I find them endlessly listenable, rewatchable — they just look great, for one thing — and interesting.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 26, 2025
Jake and his friends stayed at the Hotel Montoya, a fictional stand-in for the long-gone Hotel Quintana, where Juanito Quintana, Hemingway’s friend and fellow bullfight aficionado, once welcomed the lost generation.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025
People always assume that because I am into classical music, I’m a jazz aficionado.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
