evangelical

1 of 2

adjective

evan·​gel·​i·​cal ˌē-ˌvan-ˈje-li-kəl How to pronounce evangelical (audio)
ˌe-vən-
variants or less commonly evangelic
1
: of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels
2
3
: emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual
4
a
capitalized : of or relating to the Evangelical Church in Germany
b
often capitalized : of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism : fundamentalist
c
often capitalized : low church
5
: marked by militant or crusading zeal : evangelistic
the evangelical ardor of the movement's leadersAmos Vogel
Evangelicalism noun
evangelically adverb

evangelical

2 of 2

noun

often capitalized
: one holding evangelical principles or belonging to an evangelical party or church

Examples of evangelical in a Sentence

Adjective She is an evangelical Christian. He spoke about the project with evangelical zeal.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The Republican base heavily backed Trump, who won eight in 10 of the state's evangelical voters. Jennifer De Pinto, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2024 Today, white evangelical Protestants are the most supportive of Christian nationalist views and make up a third of the Republican party. Lisa Hagen, NPR, 28 Feb. 2024 Templeton, now 41, said she was raised as an evangelical Christian, believing that a husband had authority over his wife. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 Speakers also questioned why an evangelical film crew from the Netherlands was allowed inside Central High School accompanied by two board members who did not get permission from district officials, who were never informed about the visit. Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2024 The group includes everyone from extremely conservative evangelical groups to those on the liberal end of the spectrum, such as Episcopalians and Progressive Baptists. Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 Now the unavoidable politics on fertility in America may shape evangelical belief and practice on I.V.F. Emma Waters, a research associate at the Heritage Foundation, hopes evangelical pastors will work to train their churches about the theological reasons to oppose I.V.F., as Catholics have. Elizabeth Dias, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 One, the State Theatre, was, ironically, now owned by Universal Church, a Brazilian evangelical group. Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024 With the backing of the state's popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, and the evangelical leader, Bob Vander Plaats, DeSantis was confident in his chances. Will McDuffie, ABC News, 21 Jan. 2024
Noun
Some stately churches that house Black congregations stand virtually empty even on Sundays, while Latino evangelicals pack run-down storefronts. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Trump is absolutely cleaning up in our poll with evangelicals. Nbc Universal, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2024 Evangelical: About six in 10 voters are White evangelicals, about three times as many as there were in the New Hampshire Republican primary. Jennifer De Pinto, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024 And white evangelicals were 19%, compared with 55% in Iowa. Gary Langer, ABC News, 23 Jan. 2024 The terminology is widely seen as a dog whistle for evangelicals and social conservatives such as Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida, who has used similar language to roll back recognition and rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 But Black evangelicals have been in the US since the country’s birth. John Blake, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024 What can the results in Sioux County tell us about the fractured nature of modern evangelicals? USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024 Not every discussion of evangelicals should feature White faces. John Blake, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'evangelical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1532, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of evangelical was in 1531

Dictionary Entries Near evangelical

Cite this Entry

“Evangelical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evangelical. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

evangelical

adjective
evan·​gel·​i·​cal
ˌē-ˌvan-ˈjel-i-kəl,
ˌev-ən-
1
: of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as given in the four Gospels
2
: stressing salvation by faith in Jesus, the authority of the Bible, and the importance of preaching
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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