as in partisans
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
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Recent Examples of zealots
In that vacuum, religious zealots and cults manifest, nihilism thrives, and families are torn apart.
—
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
For weeks, Oasis zealots have devoured online videos of the siblings strolling out onstage together, arms raised in victory and hugs brief yet genuine.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
That's just part of what Nikita Bridan says should be a compelling package, even for anti-EV zealots.
—Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
Instead, a group of Jewish zealots burned the city’s storehouses in order to force the population to fight rather than wait out or appease their adversaries.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
For weeks, Oasis zealots have devoured online videos of the siblings strolling out onstage together, arms raised in victory and hugs brief yet genuine.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
That's just part of what Nikita Bridan says should be a compelling package, even for anti-EV zealots.
—Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
Instead, a group of Jewish zealots burned the city’s storehouses in order to force the population to fight rather than wait out or appease their adversaries.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealots
Noun
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Washington urged us to think as Americans first, not partisans.—
Janet Nguyen,
Oc Register,
23 Sep. 2025
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The cumulative effect is a Congress dominated by out-of-touch partisans more focused on tearing down the other side than governing and addressing the complicated problems facing citizens and the nation.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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October 7 marks two years since Hamas militants stormed into Israel launching a deadly attack that killed 1,200 people and took another 240 hostage, sparking a war in Gaza that still continues today.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
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In February, four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin in what prosecutors described as the first court case against militants of the Palestinian group in Germany.—
Pilar Arias,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Today’s moral crusaders assume an elementary cause-and-effect relationship between books and readers.—
Kevin Dickinson,
Big Think,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The platform’s private servers let activists organize out of the public eye, often under pseudonyms, and use text and calling features.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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But, years before Dobbs, a group of activists calling themselves the Respect New Mexico Women campaign began petitioning lawmakers to overturn the ban.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As steadfast as the Deadheads are, though, hardcore Metallica fanatics may be even more extreme.—
Paul Liberatore,
Mercury News,
26 Sep. 2025
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Black Sheep Coffee plans to keep fueling the coffee fanatics in the South, too.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Zealots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealots. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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