as in partisan
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause
zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name-calling and scare tactics
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Recent Examples of zealot
Clara Molot talks to the zealots who are holding the line.
—
Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
Americans tended to see him as a religious zealot.
—Alex Shams, Time, 14 Mar. 2026
Co-founder Raymond Cogan was a fan from his first ride, but became a zealot about a year later after hearing another cyclist putting the popular bike club down.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Mar. 2026
Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
Americans tended to see him as a religious zealot.
—Alex Shams, Time, 14 Mar. 2026
Co-founder Raymond Cogan was a fan from his first ride, but became a zealot about a year later after hearing another cyclist putting the popular bike club down.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Mar. 2026
Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealot
Noun
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The unprecedented corruption and self-dealing in the White House and the President’s family go entirely without oversight by partisans who once complained about Hunter Biden.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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This rhetoric is not just the thoughtless ramblings of mindless partisans.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Facing encirclement in the desert town of Kidal, the Africa Corps — now operating under Russia’s Defense Ministry after replacing the Wagner Group — negotiated a safe-passage agreement with militants to evacuate its personnel.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
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The primary objectives to reach that goal include the total removal of Hamas militants from the region, the decommissioning of weapons, and de-radicalization of the Palestinian population.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Since then, graduates have heard from prime ministers, presidents, Supreme Court justices, movie stars, civil-rights crusaders, and Taylor Swift.—
Jonathan Haidt,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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To be clear, McConaughey isn’t an anti-AI crusader.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Noun
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Dancing with controversial men’s rights activists While Peters has maintained a general apathy toward political thought, that hasn’t kept him from cozying up to some of the most controversial figures in the manosphere.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
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There were other stories that bothered him more, like a post by a writer who recounted a chaste one-night stand with Tea Party activist and Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell that described her pubic hair.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The differences have been between the more and the less patient, the cruder and the subtler, the slightly more compromising and the hard-core fanatics.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
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Rebellion was also apparent in the hairstyles exhibited, most notably by singer Miley Cyrus, a fashion fanatic, whose short, spiked look paired perfectly with her risque fishnet Marc Jacobs gown.—
Luis Giraldo,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealot. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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