as in recruit
a person who has recently been persuaded to join a religious sect
an adult proselyte who had only recently been baptized
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to convert
to persuade to change to one's religious faith
she's been trying to proselyte everyone in the office ever since she joined that church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of proselyte
James Romm, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021
In order to understand this idea, the special relationship between God and the proselyte must be examined.
—Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 17 May 2021
Kitselman also became a proselyte for the history of Waterford, helping to create educational programming at the town’s Second Street School.
—Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2021
Christian Angermayer is an unlikely proselyte of psychedelia: The German financier didn’t drink so much as a sip of beer for the first three decades of his life.
—Meghana Keshavan, Scientific American, 9 July 2019
Enter proselytes in acetate eyeglasses and Rosie Pope workwear, drawn by listservs like Brooklynitos and Fort Greene Kids and BoCoCa Moms (BoCoCa being an acronym for three adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods).
—Sonja Sharp, latimes.com, 27 June 2018
The authors observe that Yemeni Jews share elevated IBD with other Jewish populations, suggesting more than an indigenous proselyte origin for this community.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Aug. 2012
Noun
Seneca went on to become a proselyte for the Stoic path, extolling its benefits in a long run of prose essays while also serving—in some eyes, dishonorably—as an adviser to Nero.
—James Romm, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021
In order to understand this idea, the special relationship between God and the proselyte must be examined.
—Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 17 May 2021
Kitselman also became a proselyte for the history of Waterford, helping to create educational programming at the town’s Second Street School.
—Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2021
Christian Angermayer is an unlikely proselyte of psychedelia: The German financier didn’t drink so much as a sip of beer for the first three decades of his life.
—Meghana Keshavan, Scientific American, 9 July 2019
Enter proselytes in acetate eyeglasses and Rosie Pope workwear, drawn by listservs like Brooklynitos and Fort Greene Kids and BoCoCa Moms (BoCoCa being an acronym for three adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods).
—Sonja Sharp, latimes.com, 27 June 2018
The authors observe that Yemeni Jews share elevated IBD with other Jewish populations, suggesting more than an indigenous proselyte origin for this community.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Aug. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proselyte
Noun
-
Several of the new signings have produced encouraging moments, but so far, none of them look like game-changing recruits and certainly none look ready to fill the voids left by those who have left.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
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Offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said as much in late July, asserting that Okunlola — a former five-star recruit — could start at any ACC school.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Initially powered by a water counterbalance system, it was soon converted to steam in 1886 and later electrified by 1915.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
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More than 1,000 employees circumnavigate the bustling fifth floor Tempus office around an atrium that Lefkofsky said was a spiral parking ramp before the building — a National Historic Landmark that once housed the country’s oldest mail-order firm — was converted to tech space 25 years ago.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Grief Is the Thing With Feathers starring two-time Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, alongside newcomers Richard Boxall and Henry Boxall.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2025
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Marshall will be joined by newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.—
Jillian Sederholm,
EW.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the Mormon church, young adult men volunteer to leave home for proselytizing missions for two years and young women serve for 18 months.—
Jillian Frankel,
People.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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Riley, a Northern California native, who has always exuded a Zen-like geniality, was part of a generation of young American composers who had turned away from audience-alienating atonal music, which had been proselytized by their teachers in the science-minded postwar academy.—
William Robin,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Proselyte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proselyte. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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