zeal
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of zeal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English zele, from Late Latin zēlus “jealousy, rivalry,” from Greek zêlos
Explanation
Zeal is dedication or enthusiasm for something. If you have zeal, you're willing, energized, and motivated. Zeal is often used in a religious sense, meaning devotion to God or another religious cause, like being a missionary. Zeal doesn't have to be religious, though: a feeling of gusto and enthusiasm for anything can be called zeal. People have zeal for sports teams, bands, causes, and (often, but not always) their jobs. If you have passion for something, you have zeal, which is kind of a mix of eagerness and energy and devotion.
Vocabulary lists containing zeal
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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List 1
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The Things They Carried
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By the following month, the zeal had died out, partly due to a valuation correction in software.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
There are others, though, whose own zeal and blind ambition are obvious.
From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026
But Kornev is young and infused with an idealistic zeal, refusing to let these goons stonewall him.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
But many who served in the front lines maintained their revolutionary zeal, becoming more determined to sustain the regime Khomeini bequeathed to them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
He told her about the monks of Mount Athos, who in their zeal for purity banned not only women from their island monastery but the females of every other species, too.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
