evangelize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
evangelizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evangelized,
past participle, past
-
evangelizing
present participle
-
to preach the gospel to.
-
to convert to Christianity.
verb (used without object)
-
evangelizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
evangelized,
past participle, past
-
evangelizing
present participle
verb
-
to preach the Christian gospel or a particular interpretation of it (to)
-
(intr) to advocate a cause with the object of making converts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
evangelizesimple
-
evangelizessimple
-
have evangelizedperfect
-
has evangelizedperfect
-
am evangelizingprogressive
-
are evangelizingprogressive
-
is evangelizingprogressive
-
have been evangelizingperfect progressive
-
has been evangelizingperfect progressive
Past
-
evangelizedsimple
-
had evangelizedperfect
-
was evangelizingprogressive
-
were evangelizingprogressive
-
had been evangelizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of evangelize
1350–1400; Middle English evangelisen < Late Latin evangelizāre < Late Greek euangelízein. See evangel 1, -ize
Compare meaning
How does evangelize compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
To evangelize is to share religious beliefs, especially Christian ones, with other people. Preachers and ministers evangelize from the pulpit in their churches every Sunday. Certain Christians believe that it's important to evangelize to others — to preach the gospel and convey what they believe. In some cases, Christian missionaries travel to foreign countries to evangelize. The ultimate goal for those who evangelize tends to be converting non-Christians to Christianity. The word evangelize comes from the Church Latin evangelizare, "to spread or preach the Gospel," with the Greek root euangelizesthai, or "bring good news."
Vocabulary lists containing evangelize
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Paradise Lost
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Sure, celebrities often partner with fast-food restaurants to release collaboration meal deals, but Cane’s A-listers also seem to evangelize the brand itself.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Still, Mr. Kumar is correct on one count: Faiths that evangelize differ from those that don’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
The two traveled to China to evangelize, but became severely ill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
All of this might have remained in the realm of intellectual exploit had Tanton not begun to formalize and evangelize his beliefs.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024
Amid prayers and strong cryings to God they, like the Church at Antioch, designated two of their leading men to go as Native Teachers and evangelize Aniwa, viz.
From The Story of John G. Paton Or Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals by James Paton
When asked what she wants Seattle Times readers to know about her Walls of Books locations, Vaughn evangelizes about the neighborly art of bookselling.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 23, 2022
She evangelizes for yoga and wellness cures — or maybe makes fun of people who do, it’s hard to tell.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 22, 2021
It derives its value from people actually using it, which is why Sun evangelizes Tron.
From The Verge ● Sep. 29, 2020
“On Her Shoulders” shadows Nadia through three different situations, starting with a trip to Canada, where she evangelizes for the Yazidis’ plight in the hope that more of her compatriots will be admitted as refugees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2018
But where Kanye’s devotion has always resembled the near-mystic inwardness and complexity of John’s Gospel, Chance is more like the apostles of Acts: he relentlessly, almost compulsively, evangelizes and invites.
From The New Yorker ● May 24, 2016
But he does have the directive to expand its appeal beyond the athletic male American base that evangelized its tech early on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Evans says what this has led to is a kind of simplistic spiritual utopianism evangelized by many leaders of the modern psychedelic renaissance.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2024
And Ann Patchett evangelized her treadmill desk, which she said gave her a wonderful sense of “walking into my book” and which she spoke of with such fervor I briefly considered getting one myself.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
Dutch extreme athlete and wellness guru Wim Hof, known as “the Iceman,” evangelized the practice as key to his fitness method.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
Within a few years the neglected masses of the freedmen unto whom the gospel had never been successfully preached were generally evangelized and provided with some sort of facilities for religious instruction.
From The History of the Negro Church by Carter Godwin Woodson
All told, Mr. de Greef writes, Octavio and other “opportunistic and even delusional figures” who got into the game have “left a trail of harm while evangelizing the transcendent effects of the God molecule.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Not only was he America’s most famous art instructor, he was also our unofficial art therapist, evangelizing painting as a way to find solace in our imagination.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
Minnie was devoted to the Salvation Army because of the church’s dedication to evangelizing and doing good works.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
For a man evangelizing for change in San Francisco, owning a condo that used to be part of a church comes in handy.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
To be an agent of God for evangelizing the world.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
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.
