Definition of proselytize
proselytized
;proselytizing
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
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Examples of proselytize in a Sentence
They are a sport-shirted, discomforted lot, pacing, puffing feverishly on cigarettes, perspiring freely and proselytizing furiously. —Nicholas Dawidoff, Sports Illustrated, 19 Aug. 1991
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
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
He uses his position to proselytize for the causes that he supports.
the efforts of early missionaries to proselytize the Native Americans of Minnesota were largely unproductive
Recent Examples of proselytize from the Web
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But the one inviolable rule is that they are not allowed to proselytize.
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AKRON, Ohio -- Akron Children's Hospital CEO Bill Considine is proselytizing about the effect of the American Health Care Act on children.
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Alarmed by the possibility of an American public that could learn to live without sugar, the industry founded the Sugar Research Foundation to proselytize its benefits.
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Larung Gar has become one of the most influential institutions in the Tibetan world, the teachings of its senior monks praised, debated and proselytized from here to the Himalayas.
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In India, the Buddhist convert King Ashoka, who died around 238 B.C., proselytized his faith through sets of edicts that were carved in Brahmi script onto various cliff-faces and pillars.
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These savages have so far only figured out how to use the internet to proselytize …
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The Christians most motivated to turn out with signs and aggressively proselytize emphasized neither love nor forgiveness nor food for the hungry nor clothes for the naked.
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His hard-line immigration stance clashes with the more merciful views of the church, many of whose members have served proselytizing missions in Latin America.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proselytize'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Proselytize comes from the noun proselyte (meaning "a new convert"), which comes from the Late Latin noun proselytus. Proselytus means "stranger" or "alien resident," and comes from a similar Greek word (prosēlytos). When proselytize entered English in the 17th century, it had a distinctly religious connotation and meant simply "to recruit religious converts." This meaning is still common, but today one can also proselytize in a broader sense - recruiting converts to one's political party or pet cause, for example.
Origin and Etymology of proselytize
see 1proselyte
First Known Use: 1679
PROSELYTIZE Defined for English Language Learners
proselytize
playDefinition of proselytize for English Language Learners
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: to try to persuade people to join a religion, cause, or group
Learn More about proselytize
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See words that rhyme with proselytize Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for proselytize Nglish: Translation of proselytize for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of proselytize for Arabic speakers
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