evangelism
Americannoun
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the preaching or promulgation of the gospel; the work of an evangelist.
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missionary zeal, purpose, or activity.
noun
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RC Church term: evangelization, evangelisation. (in Protestant churches) the practice of spreading the Christian gospel
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ardent or missionary zeal for a cause
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the work, methods, or characteristic outlook of a revivalist or evangelist preacher
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a less common word for evangelicalism See evangelicalism
Etymology
Origin of evangelism
Explanation
If you've ever seen a street preacher, you know what evangelism is — it's the enthusiastic sharing of a religious belief. You can use the noun evangelism to talk about the spreading of any idea that someone is passionate about, but it most often describes the Christian gospels specifically. Many branches of Christianity include evangelism as an important part of their religious practice — it's vital not just to believe, but to spread those beliefs among as many people as possible. Missionaries, who travel to foreign countries to convert people to Christianity, practice evangelism too.
Vocabulary lists containing evangelism
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.
They married four months later, dropped out school and launched their television evangelism careers as hosts of a children’s puppet show on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Kafka’s posthumous fortune owes principally to the evangelism of his friend, Max Brod, who refused the author’s dying request to destroy his papers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian-based religious movement, probably best known for its door-to-door evangelism.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
Whether the videos are anti-AA or pro-AA, many are full of misinformation, reductive characterizations, evangelism, rage bait, and wannabe spiritual gurus.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2025
The new democratic evangelism began to encourage this, and then came the difficulty—the inevitable ethical paradox.
From The Negro in the South His Economic Progress in Relation to his Moral and Religious Development by W. E. Burghardt DuBois
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.
