evangelical

American  

[ee-van-jel-i-kuhl, ev-uhn-] / ˌi vænˈdʒɛl ɪ kəl, ˌɛv ən- /

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.

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noun

• evangelicals
  plural

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

evangelical British  

/ 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

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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 Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• evangelicals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of evangelical

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

Explanation

Evangelical is a word to describe anyone who is super enthusiastic about something. You might meet an evangelical Christian or an evangelical cheerleader, or even an evangelical Christian cheerleader. Evangelical is an adjective originally used to describe a relationship to a particular school of Protestantism. More generally, evangelical is used to describe a strict belief in the Christian gospel and an emphasis on personal conversion to Christianity. Outside of church, the adjective evangelical can describe someone who is an extremely enthusiastic or zealous about a particular cause. An evangelical supporter of something will speak passionately and try very hard to get you to convert to their cause.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

evangelical evangelicals

Raxa had stepped up his crab fishing in the days before the accident to afford an evangelical trip to his home country of Laos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

A friend had employed a generative AI chatbot as a marital counselor, Vance said during a recent conversation with popular evangelical podcaster Bryce Crawford.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Another influential U.S. ideological export to Latin America is evangelical Christianity, which has grown from 4% of the population 50 years ago to between 20% and 25% today.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

Like many millennials, I grew up at the peak of the American abstinence education movement and the American evangelical obsession with virginity.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

Of a student body of 5,700, about 400 participate in one of three evangelical student groups—more than the number of active mainline Protestants, the campus chaplain says.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

The younger Bolsonaro has also courted evangelicals and the agricultural industry as part of his campaign.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

One April poll showed that three-fourths of evangelicals were concerned about the dismantling of USAID.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

The growing chorus of outspoken former evangelicals tells similar stories of learning more about the Bible and questioning what they have been taught.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026

He spends chapters meditating on trauma and fatherhood, on periods of feeling spiritually adrift, on coming to love a “majestic” faith tradition while remaining connected to the rowdy evangelicals of his childhood.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

Their commitment to their faith is confounding a long-held assumption that, like earlier generations of Baptists or Pentecostals, prosperous evangelicals would abandon their religious ties or trade them for membership in establishment churches.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• pious
• religious