zealous
adjective
zeal·ous
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Definition of zealous
: marked by fervent partisanship for a person, a cause, or an ideal : filled with or characterized by zeal
zealous missionaries
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Examples of zealous in a Sentence
I was zealous in my demands on my sisters for promptness in rehearsals. I was passionate, intolerant of small talk, hungry for knowledge, grabby, bossy, precocious.
— Lynn Margulis, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005
Sir Thomas was zealous in the pursuit of recusants, not poachers, and was otherwise an amiable man.
— S. Schoenbaum, Shakespeare's Lives, 1991
Zealous in his ministerial labours, blameless in his life and habits, he yet did not appear to enjoy that mental serenity, that inward content, which should be the reward of every sincere Christian and practical philanthropist.
— Charlotte BrontĂ«, Jane Eyre, 1847
He had no cause for self-reproach on the score of neglect, or want of thought, for he had been devoted to her service; and yet a hundred little occasions rose up before him, on which he fancied he might have been more zealous, and more earnest, and wished he had been.
— Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, 1838
The detective was zealous in her pursuit of the kidnappers.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Reuters/Aly Song American shopping giant Costco got an unexpectedly frenzied welcome from zealous Chinese shoppers. — Echo Huang, Quartz, "Here are the crazy scenes from Costcoâs opening day in China," 27 Aug. 2019 Unable to deal with authority and likely abusing drugs or alcohol again, the once-zealous athlete is now sleeping on cardboard boxes on the streets of San Francisco. — New York Times, "Running to Put San Quentin Behind Him," 8 Aug. 2019 Over-zealous spraying of herbicides that might have poisoned it? — oregonlive.com, "Is there hope for this distressed magnolia tree? Ask an Expert," 14 July 2019 The decision could be generously described as over-zealous. — Emma Baccellieri, SI.com, "'What Are You Looking At?': The Question That Started the Pirates-Braves Basebrawl," 10 June 2019 Another was voided when a zealous supporter, acting without the candidateâs or employerâs knowledge, parked two employer trailers at a polling site, then plastered them with campaign signage. — Jonathan Handel, Los Angeles Times, "Film schoolâs ties with Matthew Modine face scrutiny in heated SAG-AFTRA election," 21 Aug. 2019 Mr Modi is setting himself more firmly on the path of zealous nationalism, ideological purity and religious chauvinism. — The Economist, "Modiâs revocation of Kashmirâs autonomy," 9 Aug. 2019 The pastor is Lemuel Childs (Walton Goggins), a fanatic with wild eyes and TV-anchor teeth, and his daughter Mara (Alice Englert) gets engaged to a zealous parishioner named Garret (Lewis Pullman) while secretly carrying another manâs child. — Marella Gayla, BostonGlobe.com, "In âThem That Follow,â there will be blood," 7 Aug. 2019 Absent any evidence, a boy is still dead and an innocent manâs livelihood was all but ruined by zealous authorities. — Hank Stuever, Washington Post, "âWho Killed Garrett Phillips?â is a masterful study in the evils of assumptions," 22 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'zealous.' 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 zealous
zealous
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of zealous
: feeling or showing strong and energetic support for a person, cause, etc. : filled with zeal
See the full definition for zealous in the English Language Learners Dictionary
zealous
adjective
zeal·ous
| \ Ëze-lÉs
\
\
Kids Definition of zealous
1
: filled with or showing a strong and energetic desire to get something done or see something succeed
The police were zealous in their pursuit of the criminals.
2
: marked by passionate support for a person, cause, or ideal
a zealous fan
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