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• zealot
  zealot

  noun

  a person who shows zeal.
• Zealot
  Zealot

  noun

  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

zealot

American  

[zel-uht] / ˈzɛl ət /

noun

• zealots
  plural

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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Synonym Usage

See fanatic.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underzealot
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• zealots
  plural

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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”; see zeal) + -tēs agent suffix

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Explanation

The hamburger zealot was so fanatical about his burgers that he camped outside his favorite fast-food joint for hours every morning, waiting for it to open. And he would never put mustard on them, only ketchup. The original zealots were a group of first-century Jews who were absolutely determined to overthrow Roman rule in Palestine. Today, anyone who goes overboard in their zeal, or enthusiasm, for a particular cause, a religion, a sports team, or a charitable organization — can be called a zealot. The coffee lover was a zealot regarding where his coffee was grown, who grew it, and how it was roasted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zealot Zealot zealots

Even Southwest, the anti-fee zealot of the past 50 years, recently abandoned its two-bags-free policy and started charging just like everyone else.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2025

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

If you were trying to turn a lay fan into a Caitlin Clark zealot, I don’t know that Saturday’s game would have been the first one you showed them.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024

Mr. Rowe long plotted his escape even as he portrayed himself to peers as a zealot of Kim’s rule.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023

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

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Brands writes in his gripping new dual biography, “The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2020

He calls himself the Turfgrass Zealot and has a stock speech about his successes.

From Golf Digest ● Sep. 25, 2019

He’s written three books on religion: No god but God, which is about Islam; Beyond Fundamentalism, which is about religious extremism; and Zealot, which is about Jesus of Nazareth.

From Slate ● May 4, 2017

Gabe Fazio’s Simon the Zealot is one of these, occupying the witness stand with such intensity and stillness that the whole room shrinks to his little part of it.

From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2017

Manahem, the son of Judas the Zealot, arrived two days later, while the people were besieging the palace.

From For the Temple A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

The Cylons are fundamentalist, monotheistic zealots who wipe out nearly all of humankind, making them apt representations of all kinds of real-world threats.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

The explanation is hard to untangle for those who aren’t true numerology zealots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

For TV producers, it's long been tempting to invite two self-righteous zealots into a studio to bellow at each other.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

The U.S. built the post-war world around rules—not because we are zealots about law, but because rules have helped us.

From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026

Religious zealots and religious dissenters were making noise while members of the Church of England and Unitarians like the Darwins also quietly questioned their faith.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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Related Words

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

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