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• evangelist
  evangelist

  noun

  a Protestant minister or layperson who serves as an itinerant or special preacher, especially a revivalist.
• Evangelist
  Evangelist

  noun

  any of the writers of the New Testament Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John

evangelist

American  

[ih-van-juh-list] / ɪˈvæn dʒə lɪst /

noun

• evangelists
  plural

1. a Protestant minister or layperson who serves as an itinerant or special preacher, especially a revivalist.

2. a preacher of the gospel.

3. (initial capital letter) any of the writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the four Gospels.

4. (in the primitive church) a person who first brought the gospel to a city or region.

5. (initial capital letter) a patriarch.

6. a person marked by evangelical enthusiasm for or support of any cause.

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evangelist ¹ British  

/ ɪˈvændʒɪlɪst /

noun

1. an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air

2. a preacher of the Christian gospel

3. any zealous advocate of a cause

4. another word for revivalist

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Evangelist ² British  

/ ɪˈvændʒɪlɪst /

noun

1. any of the writers of the New Testament Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John

2. a senior official or dignitary of the Mormon Church

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• evangelists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of evangelist

1125–75; Middle English evangeliste < Latin evangelista < Greek euangelistḗs. See evangel ¹, -ist

Explanation

An evangelist is a preacher, specifically a Christian preacher. Evangelists are excited to tell everyone all over the world about Christianity. If you're an evangelist, you're a Christian preacher. Unlike other religious words — such as prayer and God — this word is specifically limited to the Christian faith. With a capital e, Evangelist refers specifically to the authors of the Gospels in the New Testament. Sometimes the word is used more loosely when people say someone is an evangelist for a cause, such as vegetarianism or health care: that means they're a strong believer in and proponent of the cause.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

evangelist Evangelist evangelists

This clothing, says Mr. Robbins, identifies the latter as the evangelist St. Luke, patron saint of artists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“He became an evangelist for the game because he thought it was a game that this country would appreciate,” says Katerina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

A recent Bitcoin sale by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, a major crypto investor and Bitcoin evangelist, hasn’t helped sentiment either.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Christian actor Jonathan Roumie and worship leader Chris Tomlin also appeared during the event, while President Donald Trump, evangelist Franklin Graham and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered remarks by video.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

That some viewer will be relieved of his gastric pains just as a television evangelist calls out the symptoms is considerably more likely than that a particular viewer will be.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

From the hostel terrace, we can see the Basilica of St. John Lateran, its imposing statues of Christ, John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist rising above the rooftops.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2025

Originally opened in 1728 as the Church of St John the Evangelist, the site was decommissioned as a church and became a concert venue in the 1960s following bomb damage during World War Two.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2024

A similar step and corresponding angel wing is found on the opposite panel, depicting St. John the Evangelist, belonging to The Frick Collection.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2024

The city will allow the “RV Evangelist Ministry” to continue and will pay the church’s attorneys’ fees and related costs.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

St John the Evangelist, it will be perceived, suffered from the incalculable disadvantage of never having thought of founding a monastic order.

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power

But there is no shortage of evangelists who will point to Musk's staggering ability to raise money, challenge orthodoxy and prove his doubters wrong.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

Anthropic and OpenAI have been striking deals with consultants to help promote the use of their technology, turning an army of workers at risk of disruption into evangelists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

In the weeks after “Heated Rivalry” wrapped its first season, evangelists of the gay hockey show toyed with the idea of switching to “Industry,” which was premiering its fourth season in early January.

From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026

When AI evangelists preach the importance of prompt engineering, this is what they’re talking about.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

The evangelists sat down anyway, on a makeshift bench of bricks and planks.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• missionary
• pastor
• televangelist