zealot

American  

[zel-uht] / ˈzɛl ət /

noun

1. a person who shows zeal.

2. an excessively zealous person; fanatic.

   Synonyms:

   bigot, crank, extremist

3. (initial capital letter) a member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.

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Zealot ¹ British  

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. any of the members of an extreme Jewish sect or political party that resisted all aspects of Roman rule in Palestine in the 1st century _ad

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zealot ² British  

/ ˈzɛlət /

noun

1. an immoderate, fanatical, or extremely zealous adherent to a cause, esp a religious one

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Related Words

See fanatic.

Other Word Forms

• underzealot noun

Etymology

Origin of zealot

First recorded in 1400–50; earlier zelote from Late Latin zēlōtēs, from Greek zēlṓtēs, equivalent to zēlō- (variant stem of zēloûn “to be zealous”; zeal ) + -tēs agent suffix

Example Sentences

On top of that list was Aunt Lydia, the ruthless zealot in charge of the handmaids, played so powerfully by Ann Dowd.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025

A sort of penance, where by reading all the nasty comments under every post she assuages some of her guilt, as a zealot whips himself bloody to atone for sin?

From Slate • Jan. 31, 2024

Cleveland was a boyhood bluegrass zealot, not a prodigy.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2023

Witnesses have included his flabbergasted ex-wife, who testified that he morphed from a Brooklyn family man into a zealot.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2023

Blanche, on the other hand, glowed with the certainty of a zealot.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Related Words

• die-hard
• extremist
• fanatic
• militant
• radical