Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Filled with or motivated by zeal; fervent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Full of or incited by zeal; jealous for the good or the promotion of some person or object; ardent; eager; fervent; devoted.
  • Caused by or manifesting zeal; due to earnest devotion; of an ardent character or quality.
  • Synonyms Forward, enthusiastic, fervid, keen. See zeal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Filled with, or characterized by, zeal; warmly engaged, or ardent, in behalf of an object.
  • adjective obsolete Filled with religious zeal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by active interest and enthusiasm

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ζήλος (zēlos, "zeal, jealousy"), from ζηλόω (zēloō, "to emulate, to be jealous").

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Examples

  • Tonight, 12 House Republican congressmen outraged by what they call the zealous and unjust sentences, they've sent a letter to President Bush.

    CNN Transcript Oct 25, 2006 2006

  • Yet in this work he can find no words sufficiently strong to praise what he calls the zealous freedom and Christian earnestness of one of the most offensive canters that the whole range of fiction presents.

    James Fenimore Cooper American Men of Letters Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury 1876

  • When he came nearest to the scientific spirit of his time, in zealous observations of the life of nature, he characteristically concentrated on the sequence of various bird notes at daybreak and the flight of moths as the stars of twilight were kindled.

    Nobel Prize in Literature 1923 - Presentation Speech 1923

  • I respectfully suggest that "cult like behavior" is defined as zealous advocacy that leads to magical thinking and imperviousness to fact, you simply cannot beat a Hillary true-believer.

    Time Poll: Obama The Stronger Dem Against McCain 2009

  • In addition to his witness to the faith under persecution which encouraged the young to persevere, Fr Jia was known as a zealous and devout pastoral priest.

    Archive 2009-01-01 2009

  • "I don't know many lawyers in the bankruptcy practice who take the idea of zealous representation of their client as seriously as he does," says Richard Chesley, a Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who has worked with Mr. Lauria on a couple of cases.

    Lawyer Who Slowed Chrysler Deal May Take On GM 2009

  • As for the claim that they had been over-zealous, that is just rubbish.

    Archive 2008-12-01 FIDO The Dog 2008

  • As for the claim that they had been over-zealous, that is just rubbish.

    Residents who opposed traveller(pikey) camps accused of racism by council FIDO The Dog 2008

  • The legal profession has taken the notion of zealous representation to mean whatever the client wants.

    The Practice 2005

  • He was known as a zealous puritan, and had given his sister in marriage to the celebrated Edmund Cartwright the leader of the sect.

    Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth Lucy Aikin 1822

Comments

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  • Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum

    Vulgate, 1 Kings 19:14

    December 18, 2006

  • 'Eifer'

    adj. --> Zealous

    October 25, 2013