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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

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Etymology

Origin of evangelist

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

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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

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, he became an evangelist with a Christian organization called InterVarsity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Over the course of Jim Harbaugh’s two decades as a head coach, he has been America’s most famous khaki-pants evangelist, moonlit as a Supreme Court scholar, and declared steak a daily vitamin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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

Scholars have demonstrated that political leaders like Eisenhower and religious figures, such as the increasingly popular evangelist Billy Graham, all stressed the importance of strong religious faith.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

Converted sinners flowed down the aisles to shake hands with the evangelist and stayed at his side or were directed to one of the men in line.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

The church houses the Salus Populi Romani, a Byzantine icon of the Virgin believed to have been made by St Luke the Evangelist and used by Jesuit orders all over the world.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2025

Evangelist Franklin Graham admonished Trump not to use "foul language," the former president recalled, but Trump argued it is not a "real bad word" and "I don't use it much."

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 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

Her elementary school, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood, the all-girls Catholic high school she attended, also are about 10 minutes away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

If the Evangelist St. Mark was, as there is every reason to believe, the same "Mark whose surname was John," he was nephew to Barnabas.

From "Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) by Lady Mary Ross

Its members included senior pastors, first ladies, evangelists, and other women with constituencies of their own that travel far in a state like Michigan.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

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

The finance bros who worship at the altar of Bloomberg have declared war on the tech evangelists who have put all their faith in AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 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

Each of the evangelists carried a wooden staff with a pair of tiny, shiny silver wings on top.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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