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• zealot
  zealot

  noun

  a person who shows zeal.
• Zealot
  Zealot

  noun

  any of the members of an extreme Jewish sect or political party that resisted all aspects of Roman rule in Palestine in the 1st century _ad

zealot

American  

[zel-uht] / ˈzɛl ət /

noun

1. a person who shows zeal.

2. an excessively zealous person; fanatic.

   Synonyms:

   bigot, crank, extremist

3. (initial capital letter) a member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.

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Zealot ¹ British  

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. any of the members of an extreme Jewish sect or political party that resisted all aspects of Roman rule in Palestine in the 1st century _ad

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zealot ² British  

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. an immoderate, fanatical, or extremely zealous adherent to a cause, esp a religious one

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Synonym Usage

See fanatic.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underzealot
  noun

Etymology

Origin of zealot

First recorded in 1400–50; earlier zelote from Late Latin zēlōtēs, from Greek zēlṓtēs, equivalent to zēlō- (variant stem of zēloûn “to be zealous”; see zeal) + -tēs agent suffix

Explanation

The hamburger zealot was so fanatical about his burgers that he camped outside his favorite fast-food joint for hours every morning, waiting for it to open. And he would never put mustard on them, only ketchup. The original zealots were a group of first-century Jews who were absolutely determined to overthrow Roman rule in Palestine. Today, anyone who goes overboard in their zeal, or enthusiasm, for a particular cause, a religion, a sports team, or a charitable organization — can be called a zealot. The coffee lover was a zealot regarding where his coffee was grown, who grew it, and how it was roasted.

Example Sentences

Zealot R.I.P. performs on Sept. 22 at D.C.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2021

He calls himself the Turfgrass Zealot and has a stock speech about his successes.

From Golf Digest • Sep. 25, 2019

He’s written three books on religion: No god but God, which is about Islam; Beyond Fundamentalism, which is about religious extremism; and Zealot, which is about Jesus of Nazareth.

From Slate • May 4, 2017

Gabe Fazio’s Simon the Zealot is one of these, occupying the witness stand with such intensity and stillness that the whole room shrinks to his little part of it.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2017

Z stands for Zealot, and Zany, Of whom in this World there are so many.

From The Sugar-Plumb or, Golden Fairing by Two-Shoes, Margery

Related Words

• die-hard
• extremist
• fanatic
• militant
• radical