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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of zealots
Then there are the Muslims depicted as religious zealots.
—
Deena Elgenaidi, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Deena Elgenaidi, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealots
Noun
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Beloved by liberal partisans and loathed by their counterparts, Pelosi was one of the last engineers of an old-school political machine that could count votes better than anyone in a generation.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
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Critics will predictably argue that those two positions are inherently linked; on the opposite side of the political spectrum, oil and gas partisans could point to Gates’ essay as proof that climate hysteria was misguided all along and that fossil use should continue unimpeded.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Goldin’s remains, according to two Israeli sources, are likely held in Rafah in southern Gaza near an area where up to 200 Hamas militants are hiding in underground tunnels in territory occupied by Israeli forces.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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In 2010, while covering an event in Lara, a western state that has long been a government stronghold, he and several fellow journalists were ambushed by a mob of militants loyal to the regime.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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While the action-awareness gap isn’t lost on climate crusaders and corporate comptrollers alike, most climate solutions for reduction start with sentience—fashion included, and no, not just in trend forecasting.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
16 Oct. 2025
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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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But Latino political activists USA TODAY spoke with cautioned that voters who turn their back on Trump won’t necessarily embrace the Democratic Party.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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The president’s office declined to comment on activists’ claims that the delay in vaccinations is a deliberate strategy intended to leave indigenous communities more vulnerable to the new coronavirus.—
Adriana Brasileiro,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This album was so traumatizing for teenage Clash fanatics like me.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
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Coral fanatics will love visiting Negril, home to mountainous coral mounds and ethereal swim-through caves where green and red soft corals hang down like mystical fingers.—
Adrienne Jordan,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Zealots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealots. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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