evangelist

noun

evan·​ge·​list i-ˈvan-jə-list 

1

often capitalized : a writer of any of the four Gospels

2

: a person who evangelizes

specifically : a Protestant minister or layman who preaches at special services

3

: an enthusiastic advocate

an evangelist for physical fitness

Examples of evangelist in a Sentence

an evangelist of space exploration

Recent Examples on the Web

At the time the abuse allegedly began in December 1982, Morris was a traveling evangelist who visited Clemishire and her family in Hominy, Oklahoma, authorities said. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2025

Aim to deeply resonate with 10% of your audience; these evangelists will drive your business. —Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Marine biologist and conservationist David Shiffman was an early power user and evangelist for science engagement on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025

Every governor is an evangelist for his or her state. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

evangelist

noun

evan·​ge·​list i-ˈvan-jə-ləst 

: a Christian preacher who goes about from place to place trying to change or increase people's religious feelings

Etymology

Middle English evangelist "one of the writers of the four Gospels," from early French and Latin evangelista (same meaning), from Greek euangelizein "to preach the gospel," from euangelion "good news, gospel," from eu- "good" and angelos "messenger, angel"