as in partisans
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 zealots
Then there are the Muslims depicted as religious zealots.
—
Deena Elgenaidi, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
In that vacuum, religious zealots and cults manifest, nihilism thrives, and families are torn apart.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
For weeks, Oasis zealots have devoured online videos of the siblings strolling out onstage together, arms raised in victory and hugs brief yet genuine.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
That's just part of what Nikita Bridan says should be a compelling package, even for anti-EV zealots.
—Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
Instead, a group of Jewish zealots burned the city’s storehouses in order to force the population to fight rather than wait out or appease their adversaries.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zealots
Noun
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Reaching new voters Most Democrats accept Texas’ GOP tilt, saying their best chance lies in attracting more younger voters, disaffected nonvoters, teachers, service workers and soft partisans who often skip nonpresidential elections.—
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The perception is that only like-minded DeSantis partisans, preferably with inside connections, need apply.—
Noun
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Last year, Turkey reached a historic turning point in its decades-long conflict with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after the group renounced violence and ambitions to secede.—
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Maersk first tacked on these surcharges at the start of the Red Sea crisis in December 2023, when Houthi militants in Yemen began to launch drone and missile attacks against commercial ships passing through the waterway.—
Noun
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For now, privacy crusaders are left to wait.—
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From anti-porn crusaders to major Statehouse players Founded in the basement of College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati in 1983, CCV, then called Citizens for Community Values, was waging culture wars before they were even called culture wars.—
Noun
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Throughout 2025, national organizing groups worked to build a network of hundreds of thousands of activists engaged in their communities and civic life.—
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Whistle blasts pierced the early January chill in a now-familiar community response employed by activists in US cities to alert neighbors to the presence of immigration officers.—
Noun
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Disney and Lucasfilm really went all out with this one, and Star Wars fanatics who aren’t strict purists won't find a better box set right now.—
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Virginia's capital city has something for every type of traveler—from history lovers and art fanatics to foodies and outdoorsy types.—
Cite this Entry
“Zealots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zealots. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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