proselytize

pros·e·ly·tize

verb \ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtīz\

pros·e·ly·tizedpros·e·ly·tiz·ing

Definition of PROSELYTIZE

intransitive verb

1

: to induce someone to convert to one's faith

2

: to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause

transitive verb

: to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause

— pros·e·ly·ti·za·tion \ˌprä-s(ə-)lə-tə-ˈzā-shən, ˌprä-sə-ˌlī-tə-\ noun

— pros·e·ly·tiz·er \ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtī-zər\ noun

Examples of PROSELYTIZE

1. He uses his position to proselytize for the causes that he supports.
2. <the efforts of early missionaries to proselytize the Native Americans of Minnesota were largely unproductive>
3. They are a sport-shirted, discomforted lot, pacing, puffing feverishly on cigarettes, perspiring freely and proselytizing furiously. —Nicholas Dawidoff, Sports Illustrated, 19 Aug. 1991
4. Mormons are urged to use their social contacts with Gentiles to proselytize, by doing such favors as babysitting, running errands, and lending lawnmowers. —Malise Ruthven, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 1991
5. His prodigious correspondence with twenty-five hundred scientists, politicians, and men of letters … proselytized for his new science of statistics. —Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983

Origin of PROSELYTIZE

(see ¹proselyte)

First Known Use: 1679

Related to PROSELYTIZE

Synonyms: proselyte, convert

Related Words: missionize; brainwash, influence, sway; propagate

Near Antonyms: secularize; dissuade

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Rhymes with PROSELYTIZE

accessorize, acclimatize, actualize, aerobicize, aestheticize, Africanize, allegorize, alphabetize, analogize, anatomize, anesthetize, animalize, annualize, antagonize, anthologize, anticlockwise, apologize, apostatize, apostrophize, arabicize, aromatize, automatize, bureaucratize, cannibalize, capitalize, categorize, catheterize, catholicize, characterize, collectivize, commercialize, commoditize, communalize, computerize, conservatize, containerize, contrariwise, conveyorize, cosmeticize, counterclockwise, criminalize, cross-fertilize, cut down to size, decentralize, decolonize, de-emphasize, de-energize, defeminize, deformalize, deglamorize, dehumanize, deionize, demagnetize, demobilize, democratize, demoralize, denationalize, deodorize, depersonalize, depolarize, depressurize, desensitize, destabilize, destigmatize, detribalize, devitalize, diabolize, digitalize, disenfranchise, disorganize, economize, emblematize, emotionalize, epitomize, epoxidize, eroticize, eternalize, evangelize, extemporize, externalize, familiarize, fanaticize, fictionalize, floor exercise, fool's paradise, formularize, free enterprise, gelatinize, generalize, geologize, Hispanicize, historicize, homogenize, hospitalize, hypothesize, idealize, illegalize, immobilize, immortalize, impersonalize, Indianize, indigenize, infantilize, initialize, internalize, italicize, legitimize, liberalize, literalize, lobotomize, lysogenize, macadamize, marginalize, metabolize, metastasize, militarize, mineralize, monopolize, mythologize, nationalize, naturalize, parenthesize, philosophize, poeticize, politicize, popularize, prioritize, radicalize, reorganize, revitalize, ritualize, romanticize, secularize, self-fertilize, sensualize, sexualize, sovietize, subjectivize, suburbanize, subvocalize, systematize, temporalize, theologize, traditionalize, trivialize, ventriloquize, visualize