evangelize

verb

evan·​ge·​lize i-ˈvan-jə-ˌlīz How to pronounce evangelize (audio)
evangelized; evangelizing

transitive verb

1
: to preach the gospel to
2
: to convert to Christianity

intransitive verb

: to preach the gospel
evangelization noun
evangelizer noun

Example Sentences

The missionaries set out to evangelize the world. They were evangelizing about the importance of saving energy.
Recent Examples on the Web During the pandemic, as tech workers went remote and Twitter pundits evangelized the tax benefits of being in Austin or Miami, the San Francisco area seemed poised to cede its start-up primacy. Yiren Lu, New York Times, 31 May 2023 Use the levers at your disposal to evangelize your employer brand to current and potential employees. Lindsey Groepper, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023 Jehovah’s Witnesses are best known for devoting a substantial amount of time to Bible study and door-to-door evangelizing. Mathew Schmalz, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2023 For the past five decades, Cerf, now 79, has been perfecting, extending, and evangelizing the Internet. IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2023 And yet for all the discussion of the sport’s looming irrelevance, the end of its golden era, few of those evangelizing for radicalism seem willing to tread down those paths. Rory Smith, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2023 How much of that communication falls on companies like yours, or industry groups or nonprofits, or even just on Twitter users evangelizing? Justin Doom, Fortune Crypto, 16 Mar. 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk has evangelized treating all the service’s users equally. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2023 Instead, the company has mastered the art of finding a specific audience online and convincing them — through clever social media content, for instance — to evangelize for them. Nicole Sperling, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'evangelize.' 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

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of evangelize was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near evangelize

Cite this Entry

“Evangelize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evangelize. Accessed 5 Jun. 2023.

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