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In the 1st century A.D., a fanatical sect arose in Judaea to oppose the Roman domination of Palestine. Known as the Zealots, they fought their most famous battle at the great fortress of Masada, where 1,000 defenders took their own lives just as the Romans were about to storm the fort. Over the years, zealot came to mean anyone who is passionately devoted to a cause. The adjective zealous may describe someone who's merely dedicated and energetic ("a zealous investigator", "zealous about combating inflation", etc.). But zealot (like its synonym fanatic) and zealotry (like its synonym fanaticism) are used disapprovingly—even while Jews everywhere still honor the memory of those who died at Masada.
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Examples of zealot in a Sentence
Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
But sometimes conscience demands that even we zealots of the future take stock.
—Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2024
And in both the present and past story lines, different Afghan factions have different agendas, different ideologies, and different lifestyles; they’re not immediately labeled as terrorists or written off as zealots.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2024
The Iraq war was not foisted on the country by ideological cliques or conflict-craving zealots.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zealot. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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zealot
noun
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