as in partisan
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause
zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name-calling and scare tactics
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Recent Examples of zealot
Bo-Katan explains the Mandalorians who raised Din and taught him to never show his face are religious zealots known as the Children of the Watch, who broke from Mandalorian society.
—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
The software, known as Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, suddenly turned people across the company into privacy zealots, a legal staffer says.
—
Paresh Dave,
Wired News,
14 May 2026
In Spanish, the line is gendered, as any bilingual Alcaraz zealot may point out.
—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
Blending a tense crime thriller structure with absurdist, deadpan humor, the film follows a right-wing zealot who travels to a sleep rural town to assassinate a progressive woman journalist – but runs into a series of darkly comic encounters along the way.
—
Liz Shackleton,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
The software, known as Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, suddenly turned people across the company into privacy zealots, a legal staffer says.
—
Paresh Dave,
Wired News,
14 May 2026
In Spanish, the line is gendered, as any bilingual Alcaraz zealot may point out.
—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
Blending a tense crime thriller structure with absurdist, deadpan humor, the film follows a right-wing zealot who travels to a sleep rural town to assassinate a progressive woman journalist – but runs into a series of darkly comic encounters along the way.
—
Liz Shackleton,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealot
Noun
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Reynolds tracks the willingness of northern partisans—Carl Schurz, Horace Greeley, Lyman Trumbull, and even Sumner himself—to abandon that cause by the dwindling references to Jamestown and Plymouth.
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Meanwhile, partisans continued to spar over dozens of Republican bills that would allow voters to lower property taxes for homeowners by raising sales taxes on everyone.
Noun
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The country is also home to several minority groups that have clashed with regime forces in the past, including Kurdish militants, Arab and Baloch separatists, among others.
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Since overthrowing the Assad dynasty and taking power in a lightning insurgency in December 2024, Syria’s new rulers have cracked down on militants from the extremist Islamic State group in an attempt to thwart attacks in and around the capital.
Noun
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Willis, not surprisingly, is happy to be seen as an artistic crusader.
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Saba masquerades like a CEF crusader whose mission is to eliminate any and every CEF discount.
Noun
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Photos of the demonstrators show Patriot Front leader and far-right activist Thomas Rousseau walking with the group.
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Trudell was a Santee and Mexican American activist and poet, who died in 2015.
Noun
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Gardner’s Big Slick co-host and fellow Chiefs fanatic, Eric Stonestreet and his wife, Lindsay, attended.
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For basketball fanatic Adam Sandler, there was no better way to shake off the pre-wedding jitters than shooting some hoops.
Cite this Entry
“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealot. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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