Encourage a jerk to become extremist (7)

I believe the answer is:

fanatic

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'extremist' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'encourage a jerk' is the wordplay.
'encourage' becomes 'fan' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'jerk' becomes 'tic' (I've seen this before).
'fan'+'a'+'tic'='FANATIC'

'to become' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fanatic that I've seen before include "Overzealous person" , "Zealot or extremist" , "Narrow-minded enthusiast" , "Devotee beyond reason" , "Obsessive enthusiast" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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