zealot

[ zel-uht ]

noun

1. a person who shows zeal.
2. an excessively zealous person; fanatic.

   Synonyms: bigot, crank, extremist

3. (initial capital letter) a member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.

zealot

¹

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. an immoderate, fanatical, or extremely zealous adherent to a cause, esp a religious one

Zealot

²

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. any of the members of an extreme Jewish sect or political party that resisted all aspects of Roman rule in Palestine in the 1st century ad

Other Words From

• under·zealot noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of zealot¹

First recorded in 1400–50; earlier zelote from Late Latin zēlōtēs, from Greek zēlṓtēs, equivalent to zēlō- (variant stem of zēloûn “to be zealous”; zeal ) + -tēs agent suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of zealot¹

C16: from Late Latin zēlōtēs, from Greek, from zēloun to be zealous, from zēlos zeal

Synonym Study

See fanatic.

Example Sentences

This fake Christian will “stand back and stand by” as the Supreme Court allows religious zealots to tell the rest of us how we can live our lives.

From Salon

In the beginning, he said, "It was very climate, it was very zealot, there was a lot of rhetoric, it was very anti-cattle industry."

From Salon

There’s a lot of crazies, a lot of religious zealots and Trumpers.

From Los Angeles Times

The U.S. is facing security threats in a presidential election year coming from Islamic militants, far-right extremists, leftist radicals and an array of zealots disgruntled over the nation’s culture wars and our polarized society.

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike the partisan zealots on your bench, we took our oaths to heart.

From Salon

Related Words

• die-hard
• extremist
• fanatic
• militant
• radical