From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishardentar‧dent /ˈɑːdənt $ ˈɑːr-/ adjective [usually before noun] 1 STRONG FEELING OR BELIEFshowing strong positive feelings about an activity and determination to succeed at it an ardent supporter of free trade2 literarySTRONG FEELING OR BELIEF showing strong feelings of love an ardent lover —ardently adverb
Examples from the Corpus
ardent• I was an ardent admirer and supporter of MacBrayne's buses: they opened up the north-west for me.• an ardent advocate of gun control• Since Michelangelo was an ardent antiquarian, all this will have been familiar territory.• Clinton and Al Gore have become ardent defenders of a balanced budget and gay rights.• He was not an opposition supporter but an ardent disciple of MrMilosevic's Socialist party.• Middle-class moralists might be ardent, even strident, but working-class patterns continued to be remarkably resistant and independent.• Newman had realised that, because of cultural inequalities, many people were not ardent followers of drama as presented in the Theatre.• She offered ardent prayers to them perpetually, but not one of them would do anything to make Venus their enemy.• He was a man of strong beliefs and had always given ardent support to the Reform cause.• Even his most ardent supporters disagreed with this move.ardent supporter• Then Macleod, to the astonishment of some of his most ardent supporters, decided not to enter the lists.• He held numerous cabinet posts and was an ardent supporter of Mrs Thatcher.• Jerry Falwell were ardent supporters of the Likud and its policies.• Hope was an ardent supporter of the Society, and was its President from June 1859 until its dissolution after 1878.• Many were held in the scientific institutions where some of the nonconformists most ardent supporters worked.Origin ardent (1300-1400) Old French Latin, present participle of ardere “to burn” 