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evangel

1 American  
[ih-van-juhl] / ɪˈvæn dʒəl /

noun

  1. the good tidings of the redemption of the world through Jesus Christ; the gospel.

  2. (usually initial capital letter) any of the four Gospels.

  3. doctrine taken as a guide or regarded as of prime importance.

  4. good news or tidings.


evangel 2 American  
[ih-van-juhl] / ɪˈvæn dʒəl /

noun

  1. an evangelist.


evangel British  
/ ɪˈvændʒəl /

noun

  1. archaic the gospel of Christianity

  2. (often capital) any of the four Gospels of the New Testament

  3. any body of teachings regarded as central or basic

  4. an evangelist

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of evangel1

1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin evangelium < Greek euangélion good news ( see eu-, angel); replacing Middle English evangile < Middle French

Origin of evangel2

1585–95; < Late Latin evangelus < Greek euángelos (adj.) bringing good news. See evangel 1

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.

See Examples For:

His Sonny, a Texas evangel with a devoted flock, is deeply flawed — to watch the way his wife flinches when he approaches her tells its own sad backstory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

Some anecdotes are more uncomfortable — for speaker and hearer — than others, but collectively serve Dr. Pam’s evangel that “you are not alone.”

From Washington Times ● Oct. 8, 2017

He went before the Republican members of the Ways & Means Committee last week as an evangel for free Philippine sugar.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the U.S., where he arrived in 1937, he was chief evangel of the new right-angled religion.

From Time Magazine Archive

Do not despise the evangel of humor because he comes unlike one of old, wearing a girdle of camel's hair, and eating his locusts and wild honey.

From A Breeze from the Woods, 2nd Ed. by William Chauncey Bartlett

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