evangelical

[ee-van-jel-i-kuhl, ev-uhn-]

adjective

1. Also evangelic. pertaining to or in keeping with the gospel and its teachings.

2. belonging to or designating the Christian churches that emphasize the teachings and authority of the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament, in opposition to the institutional authority of the church itself, and that stress as paramount the tenet that salvation is achieved by personal conversion to faith in the atonement of Christ.

3. designating Christians, especially of the late 1970s, eschewing the designation of fundamentalist but holding to a conservative interpretation of the Bible.

4. pertaining to certain movements in the Protestant churches in the 18th and 19th centuries that stressed the importance of personal experience of guilt for sin, and of reconciliation to God through Christ.

5. marked by ardent or zealous enthusiasm for a cause.

noun

1. an adherent of evangelical doctrines or a person who belongs to an evangelical church or party.

evangelical

/ ˌiːvænˈdʒɛlɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, based upon, or following from the Gospels

2. denoting or relating to any of certain Protestant sects or parties, which emphasize the importance of personal conversion and faith in atonement through the death of Christ as a means of salvation

3. another word for evangelistic

noun

1. an upholder of evangelical doctrines or a member of an evangelical sect or party, esp the Low-Church party of the Church of England

evangelical

1. A member of any of various Christian churches that believes in the sole authority of the literal Bible (see also Bible), a salvation (see also salvation) only through regeneration, or rebirth, and a spiritually transformed personal life.

Other Word Forms

• evangelically adverb
• evangelicalness noun
• evangelicality noun
• nonevangelic adjective
• nonevangelical adjective
• nonevangelically adverb
• pseudoevangelic adjective
• pseudoevangelical adjective
• pseudoevangelically adverb
• superevangelical adjective
• superevangelically adverb
• unevangelic adjective
• unevangelical adjective
• unevangelically adverb
• evangelicalism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of evangelical¹

1525–35; < Late Latin evangelicus (< Late Greek euangelikós; evangel ¹, -ic ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Baumgartner is the founder and executive director of A Moment of Hope, an evangelical Christian “sidewalk ministry” located in the clinic’s parking lot that aims to counsel people against abortion and offer resources.

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The tax burden would be disproportionately felt by progressive mainline Protestant churches, Black evangelical churches and immigrant-majority Catholic and Protestant congregations, not to mention immigrant-majority mosques and temples.

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His parents had fully signed up to the evangelical life and the experience left Benn with scars that cut far deeper than those he has sustained inside the boxing ring.

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The American version of this belief has undergirded support for Israel among evangelical Protestants.

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Wurm founded evangelical Christian ministry Ignite the Fire focused on Caribbean youth.

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Related Words

• pious 
• religious