proselytize
verb
pros·e·ly·tize
| \ ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtīz
\
\
proselytized;
proselytizing
Definition of proselytize
1
: to induce someone to convert to one's faith
2
: to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause
: to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause
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Other Words from proselytize
proselytization
\ ˌprä-s(ə-)lə-tə-ˈzā-shən
, ˌprä-sə-ˌlī-tə- \
noun
, ˌprä-sə-ˌlī-tə- \
noun
proselytizer
\ ˈprä-s(ə-)lə-ˌtī-zər
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of proselytize in a Sentence
They are a sport-shirted, discomforted lot, pacing, puffing feverishly on cigarettes, perspiring freely and proselytizing furiously.
— Nicholas Dawidoff, Sports Illustrated, 19 Aug. 1991
His prodigious correspondence with twenty-five hundred scientists, politicians, and men of letters … proselytized for his new science of statistics.
— Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983
He uses his position to proselytize for the causes that he supports.
the efforts of early missionaries to proselytize the Native Americans of Minnesota were largely unproductive
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Recent Examples on the Web
Criers publicized events and proselytized Black Axe principles in flyers or emails. — Sean Williams, Harper's magazine, "The Black Axe," 19 Aug. 2019 Some nonreligious folks also see the church solution as nothing but an excuse for the faithful to proselytize. — Ericka Andersen, WSJ, "Is God the Answer to the Suicide Epidemic?," 11 July 2019 While the Turkish Red Crescent regularly partners with IHH, its activities focus as much on proselytizing as on aid. — Michael Rubin, National Review, "Turkey’s Africa Strategy Threatens to Breed Islamist Extremism," 26 June 2019 In contrast to other North American colonies established by the British, French and Spanish, the Dutch didn’t come to flee religious persecution or to proselytize. — Sam Roberts, New York Times, "Time Flies When You’re the Capital of the World," 4 Jan. 2018 And the justices had to decide whether the First Amendment protected their right to proselytize like that. — Lillian Cunningham, Washington Post, "Episode 16 of the Constitutional podcast: ‘The First Amendment’," 29 Jan. 2018 The idea is you’re supposed to go back to Australia and proselytize about America. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Axios’ Jonathan Swan explains what the press gets wrong about the Trump administration," 6 Dec. 2018 In 2014, the church began giving missionaries tablets and broadened proselytizing to social media. — Brady Mccombs, Fox News, "No more snail mail: Mormons to receive mission calls online," 6 Sep. 2018 Terence McKenna, the great mushroom proselytizer, was heavily involved, proselytizing for virtual reality and its virtues. — Recode Staff, Recode, "How ‘hackers, founders, and freaks’ built Silicon Valley," 3 Aug. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proselytize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for proselytize
proselytize
verb
English Language Learners Definition of proselytize
formal + often disapproving
: to try to persuade people to join a religion, cause, or group
See the full definition for proselytize in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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