zealot

noun zeal·ot \ ˈze-lət \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Definition of zealot

1 : a zealous person; especially : a fanatical partisan

a religious zealot

2 capitalized : a member of a fanatical sect arising in Judea during the first century a.d. and militantly opposing the Roman domination of Palestine

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Examples of zealot in a Sentence

zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name-calling and scare tactics

Recent Examples of zealot from the Web

One of them was identified as Matthew the tax collector, another as Simon the zealot.

— daniel burke, CNN, "Southern Baptists, Mike Pence and the quest for unity," 14 June 2018
The new version stars Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan as one of the book-burners, whose uncertainty about his job puts him at odds with his boss (Shape of Water villain Michael Shannon), an anti-reading zealot.

— noel murray, The Verge, "Why a Ray Bradbury Twilight Zone episode is the perfect thing to stream this weekend," 18 May 2018
But these fans may soon need to share their bleachers or slice of sod in the Snake Pit with a new crew: the solar zealots (coining the term here).

— sarah bowman, Indianapolis Star, "Watch out, gearheads, solar power could be coming to the Speedway at Indianapolis 500," 18 May 2018
Participation ranges at the extremes, from the preaching of zealots to shilling and promotion by corporate representatives.

— eve macsweeney, Vogue, "Inside the Copenhagen Fashion Summit: Well-Dressed Danes and Why You Shouldn’t Wear Spandex," 17 May 2018
Remember, kids, just like gun shows, 2nd Amendment zealots will use any loophole to try to diminish the impact of examples like this.

— jenna portnoy, Washington Post, "Democrat buys semiautomatic rifle at Va. gun show in under 10 minutes," 1 May 2018
Boskin, an advisor in George H.W. Bush’s administration, is certainly no regulatory zealot, so Silicon Valley should take heed of his prediction.

— aaron pressman, Fortune, "Data Sheet—Why Big Tech Will Dominate Policy Debates for Decades," 30 Apr. 2018
Play as big a role in the mundane activities of politics as the zealots do.

— yvonne wingett sanchez, azcentral, "Sen. John McCain in new book: 'I can speak my mind without fearing the consequences'," 30 Apr. 2018
The footage showed over 10,000 Sannyasins (as the group’s zealots were known) dancing and frolicking in rural Oregon during the cult’s 1983 World Festival.

— jacob gallagher, WSJ, "The Latest Fashion Trend? Dressing Like You’re in a Cult," 2 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'zealot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In the 1st century A.D., a fanatical sect arose in Judaea to oppose the Roman domination of Palestine. Known as the Zealots, they fought their most famous battle at the great fortress of Masada, where 1,000 defenders took their own lives just as the Romans were about to storm the fort. Over the years, zealot came to mean anyone who is passionately devoted to a cause. The adjective zealous may describe someone who's merely dedicated and energetic ("a zealous investigator", "zealous about combating inflation", etc.). But zealot (like its synonym fanatic) and zealotry (like its synonym fanaticism) are used disapprovingly—even while Jews everywhere still honor the memory of those who died at Masada.

Origin and Etymology of zealot

Late Latin zelotes, from Greek zēlōtēs, from zēlos

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1537

in the meaning defined at sense 2

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zealot Synonyms

ZEALOT Defined for English Language Learners

zealot

noun

Definition of zealot for English Language Learners

: a person who has very strong feelings about something (such as religion or politics) and who wants other people to have those feelings : a zealous person