Link Centre Dictionary

zeal

UK/ziːl/ US/zil/ uncommon obsolete

noun

1.

a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause)

  • “they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor”
  • “he felt a kind of religious zeal”
Synonyms
2.

excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end

  • “he had an absolute zeal for litigation”

Origin

From Middle English zele, from Old French zel, from Late Latin zēlus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to search”). Related to jealous.

Phrases

  • missionary zeal
  • zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.