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Is there a single word to describe a person who is a lover of fantasy? Similarly, is there a single word to describe a person who is a lover of sci-fi?

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One of the beauties of language is how we can combine the same words in different ways to make new things. Whence this mania for single words? A fantasy-fiction lover loves fantasy, a science-fiction lover loves science-fiction. A fantasist is a crafter of fantasy. –  tchrist Aug 7 '12 at 9:42
@tchrist I didn't like the way "fantasy lover" sounds :P –  asymptotically Aug 7 '12 at 9:48
Which is precisely why I said fantasy-fiction lover. –  tchrist Aug 7 '12 at 9:50
No, I didn't like that either :) –  asymptotically Aug 7 '12 at 9:53
So what if there is a single word for that, and you don't like it, either? Perhaps if you tell us the word you will like, we can speed up the process considerably. –  RegDwigнt Aug 7 '12 at 10:02

3 Answers 3

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If you find fantasy lover too suggestive and fantasy-fiction lover too unwieldy, then perhaps the problem is with the lover part, not the fantasy part.

My favorite is fantasy buff, which doesn’t seem too unwieldy.

A fantasy fan is easy too, and then there’s always fantasy devotee and fantasy aficionado. Whether fantasy addict or fantasy junkie are also too connotative of other matters, I leave to you.

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There isn't a single word for 'lover of fantasy'.

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While to many people it has negative connotations, "nerd" could serve your purposes admirably. As could "fan" or "enthusiast".

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I'd say "geek" is more fitting, at least according to this diagram. Fantasy/sci-fi => "Intelligence" and lover => "Obsession" :-) –  Fuhrmanator Aug 7 '12 at 15:55
In the contexts I've heard it in, a nerd is anyone who is very interested in something. You can have DnD nerds and you can have Baseball nerds. I would have switched 'nerd' and 'geek' in that diagram. –  rsegal Aug 7 '12 at 15:58
I agree the names for the intersections seem arbitrary. I don't think the diagram was meant to be precise, but rather humorous. It's why I added the :-) at the end of my comment. –  Fuhrmanator Aug 7 '12 at 16:01

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