as in partisan
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause
zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name-calling and scare tactics
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Recent Examples of zealot
There was Hugh Grant as a fiendishly charming religious zealot in Heretic, Naomi Scott as a pop star fighting both literal and figurative demons in Smile 2, and Justice Smith as a shy teen who develops an obsession with a cult horror series in I Saw the TV Glow.
—
Megan McCluskey, TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
The current resident is Sister Dorotea, the zealot who was murdered by Valya decades ago.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Jovovich plays Gray Alys, a wish-granting, face-tattooed witch who is being hunted by a crew of religious zealots, crypto monarchs and bulk-rate CGI skeleton zombies.
—Adam Graham/the Detroit News, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
Anti-natural gas zealots also conveniently leave out that even all-electric customers are reliant on fossil fuels: 74% of electricity generation in our transmission region is powered by natural gas, coal or oil.
—Dawn White, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Megan McCluskey, TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
The current resident is Sister Dorotea, the zealot who was murdered by Valya decades ago.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Jovovich plays Gray Alys, a wish-granting, face-tattooed witch who is being hunted by a crew of religious zealots, crypto monarchs and bulk-rate CGI skeleton zombies.
—Adam Graham/the Detroit News, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
Anti-natural gas zealots also conveniently leave out that even all-electric customers are reliant on fossil fuels: 74% of electricity generation in our transmission region is powered by natural gas, coal or oil.
—Dawn White, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealot
Noun
-
Indeed, much of what Newsom talked about was immediately cheered by the very partisans who usually loathe him.—
Lanhee J. Chen,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2025
-
But as a matter of context, there is a difference between the principled partisans of the early republic, the professional analysts of the 20th century, and an owner who demands his media outlet’s opinions should be limited to his preferences.—
Joseph Jones,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Vieira, elected as an anti-corruption crusader, had supported Bolsonaro in 2018.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
-
The free market crusader transferred $5.3 billion of Koch, Inc.'s nonvoting stock to a pair of nonprofits with fewer restrictions on lobbying and politics than traditional charities from 2020 to 2022.—
Sylvan Lebrun,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine activist and prolific conspiracy theorist, was tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services days after he was reelected president in November.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2025
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Under Attack America’s new Red Scare has government, corporate and cultural forces targeting activists speaking out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, smearing pro-Palestinian protestors as antisemitic.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But Zendaya is far from the only vintage fanatic in Hollywood.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
27 Mar. 2025
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The garage was briefly turned into an antique furniture business and became an unofficial tourist destination for true crime fanatics.—
Sarah Holzmann,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealot. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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