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having the ability to "enthuse for" or "enthuse with"?

English Language & Usage Asked by Ben Es on March 7, 2021

I’m proofreading an application and there is this sentence I’m a bit sceptical about:


"Apart from that, I have the ability to enthuse myself and others with something new."


Wouldn’t it be better to say "enthuse for" instead of "enthuse with" or to rewrite the sentence like

"…I have the ability to get myself and others enthusiastic about new things." ?

I’ve searched for "enthuse for/with" and according to google ngram "with" is more common than "for", which seems to correlate with what I found in the cambride dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/enthuse). The problem might be simply solved by exchanging "enthuse with" for "inspire for", but I also really want to know which preposition comes along with "enthuse".

Thank you in advance.

One Answer

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/enthuse give examples of the two usual uses. One definition coincides with your first use. "He was passionately interested in classical music but failed to enthuse his children (with it)".

Although the verb "to enthuse" is originally a back-formation (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_back-formations) from the noun "enthusiasm", it now behaves as a regular and accepted verb, and there is no need to revert to circumlocutions involving "enthusiasm".

Answered by Anton on March 7, 2021

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