zealot

noun

ˈze-lət How to pronounce zealot (audio)
Definition of zealotnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of zealot Bo-Katan explains the Mandalorians who raised Din and taught him to never show his face are religious zealots known as the Children of the Watch, who broke from Mandalorian society. — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 16 May 2026 The software, known as Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, suddenly turned people across the company into privacy zealots, a legal staffer says. — Paresh Dave, Wired News, 14 May 2026 In Spanish, the line is gendered, as any bilingual Alcaraz zealot may point out. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026 Blending a tense crime thriller structure with absurdist, deadpan humor, the film follows a right-wing zealot who travels to a sleep rural town to assassinate a progressive woman journalist – but runs into a series of darkly comic encounters along the way. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 12 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for zealot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealot
  1. partisan
  2. militant
  3. crusader
  4. activist
  5. fanatic
Noun
  • Exhibited for the first time outside of Sarajevo, the churning Socialist Realist homage invokes Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People in figuring partisans heroically overcoming their would-be Nazi aggressors.
    — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026
  • Reynolds tracks the willingness of northern partisans—Carl Schurz, Horace Greeley, Lyman Trumbull, and even Sumner himself—to abandon that cause by the dwindling references to Jamestown and Plymouth.
    — James Traub, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Definition of partisan
Noun
  • People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • During that time, four MPs were killed by Irish republican militants between 1979 and 1990.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
Definition of militant
Noun
  • Willis, not surprisingly, is happy to be seen as an artistic crusader.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2026
  • Saba masquerades like a CEF crusader whose mission is to eliminate any and every CEF discount.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of crusader
Noun
  • The California State Fair and Embarc’s team are honoring the activists who were on the front line of the fight throughout the festival’s run this year.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 19 July 2026
  • Cuban activist Salomé García met Otero Alcántara in Havana in 2012 through their work as artists.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 19 July 2026
Definition of activist
Noun
  • For more than 40 years, the festival that began in 1979 drew an attendance of around 100,000 every year, with foodies, garlic fanatics and famous chefs coming from around the world.
    — Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
  • Because movies like both Rise and this new one are what make discerning horror fanatics cynical and ruin a franchise’s good name.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2026
Definition of fanatic

Browse Nearby Words

zeal
zealot
zealotry
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Cite this Entry

“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealot. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on zealot

Nglish: Translation of zealot for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about zealot

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