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
Conservation groups, meanwhile, decried Burgum as an anti-public lands zealot who does oil companies’ bidding.
—
Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 24 Jan. 2025
Shoup was an advocate, even a zealot, for the wider understanding of a straightforward fact: Free parking is not free.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 11 Feb. 2025
The war is being run by zealots who will measure their success by the sheer number of people deported.
—Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025
In this wintry offering, two strangers break into a house to escape a Christmas blizzard and encounter an overprotective mother and otherworldly daughter who give Stephen King’s Carrie and her zealot mom a run for their money.
—Brooke Knisley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 24 Jan. 2025
Shoup was an advocate, even a zealot, for the wider understanding of a straightforward fact: Free parking is not free.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 11 Feb. 2025
The war is being run by zealots who will measure their success by the sheer number of people deported.
—Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025
In this wintry offering, two strangers break into a house to escape a Christmas blizzard and encounter an overprotective mother and otherworldly daughter who give Stephen King’s Carrie and her zealot mom a run for their money.
—Brooke Knisley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for zealot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealot
Noun
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Democrats have no more claim to Latino identity than Republicans, and the idea that putting partisans from both camps under the same ethnic tent might bring about commonality on hot-button issues such as reproductive rights or mass deportations is nonsense.—
Mike Madrid,
The Mercury News,
7 Mar. 2025
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As the Germans waged a savage war against Soviet partisans, the partisans, in turn, established their own reign of terror over collaborators and seized scarce food supplies from local villagers.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The statuette was designed to resemble a knight holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film, according to the Academy.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
7 Feb. 2025
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A number of fans seem to believe that the shift can be attributed to his portrayal of Gotham City's caped crusader in Matt Reeves' 2022 reboot of the DC character.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine and communist activist who had lived in the Soviet Union, was soon arrested for the killing.—
Stefan Becket,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2025
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Like those activists, he is accused of leading protests with which the government disagrees.—
David Cole,
The New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Where fans and fanatics are able to watch the skills, competitiveness and action drawing plays, leaving many people in disbelief and amazement right in their own home.—
Adam Rumanek,
Rolling Stone,
13 Mar. 2025
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People who were skeptical of this all-consuming love fest were viewed as crazy racists and messianic fanatics.—
Uri Kurlianchik,
National Review,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Zealot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealot. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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