What does zeal mean?
Definitions for zeal
zilzeal
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word zeal.
Princeton's WordNet
ardor, ardour, elan, zealnoun
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"
zealnoun
excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end
"he had an absolute zeal for litigation"
readiness, eagerness, zeal, forwardnessnoun
prompt willingness
"readiness to continue discussions"; "they showed no eagerness to spread the gospel"; "they disliked his zeal in demonstrating his superiority"; "he tried to explain his forwardness in battle"
Wiktionary
zealnoun
The fervor or tireless devotion for a person, cause, or ideal and determination in its furtherance; diligent enthusiasm; powerful interest.
Etymology: First coined in 1382, from zele, from zel, from zelus, from ζήλος, from ζηλόω. Cognate to jealous.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
ZEALnoun
Passionate ardour for any person or cause.
Etymology: ζῆλος, zelus, Latin.
This present age, wherein zeal hath drowned charity and skill; meekness will not now suffer any man to marvel, whatsoever he shall hear reproved by whomsoever. Richard Hooker.
If I had had time to have made new liveries, I would have bestowed the thousand pound I borrowed of you: but it is no matter, this poor show doth better; this doth infer the zeal I had to see him. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.
O Cromwell, Cromwell!
Had I but serv’d my God with half the zeal
I serv’d my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies. William Shakespeare.Among the seraphims
Abdiel, than whom none with more zeal ador’d
The Deity, and divine commands obey’d,
Stood up, and in a flame of zeal severe,
The current of his fury thus oppos’d. John Milton, Parad. Lost.Zeal, the blind conductor of the will. Dryden.
She with such a zeal the cause embrac’d,
As women, where they will, are all in haste;
The father, mother, and the kin beside,
Were overborne by the fury of the tide. Dryden.The princes applaud with a furious joy,
And the king seiz’d a flambeau with zeal to destroy. Dryden.Seriousness and zeal in religion is natural to the English. John Tillotson, Sermons.
Good men often blemish the reputation of their piety by over-acting some things in their religion; by an indiscreet zeal about things wherein religion is not concerned. John Tillotson.
True zeal seems not to be any one single affection of the soul; but rather a strong mixture of many holy affections; rather a gracious constitution of the whole mind, than any one particular grace, swaying a devout heart, and filling it with all pious intentions; all not only uncounterfeit, but most fervent. Thomas Sprat, Sermons.
When the sins of a nation have provoked God to forsake it, he suffers those to concur in the most pernicious counsels for enslaving conscience, who pretend to the greatest zeal for the liberty of it. Edward Stillingfleet.
This rebellion has discovered to his majesty, who have espoused his interests with zeal or indifference. Joseph Addison, Freeh.
A scorn of flattery and a zeal for truth. Alexander Pope.
ChatGPT
zeal
Zeal is a great energy, enthusiasm or passion in pursuit of a cause or objective. It is a feeling of strong eagerness and intense interest.
Webster Dictionary
Zealnoun
passionate ardor in the pursuit of anything; eagerness in favor of a person or cause; ardent and active interest; engagedness; enthusiasm; fervor
Zealnoun
a zealot
Zealverb
to be zealous
Etymology: [F. zle; cf. Pg. & It. zelo, Sp. zelo, celo; from L. zelus, Gr. , probably akin to to boil. Cf. Yeast, Jealous.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Zeal
zēl, n. boiling or passionate ardour for anything: enthusiasm.—n. Zeal′ant (Bacon), a zealot or enthusiast.—adj. Zeal′less, wanting zeal.—ns. Zealot (zel′ot), one full of zeal: an enthusiast: a fanatic: one of a fanatical Jewish party whose restless opposition to the Roman domination finally brought about the ruin of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.; Zealotism (zel′-), the character of a zealot; Zealotry (zel′-).—adj. Zealous (zel′-), full of zeal: warmly engaged or ardent in anything.—adv. Zealously (zel′-).—n. Zealousness (zel′-). [O. Fr. zele&mmdash;L. zelus—Gr. zēlos, zeein, to boil. Cf. Yeast.]
The Roycroft Dictionary
zeal
The feeling you have before you secure the thing, as compared with "Stung," which is your condition after you have captured it.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
zeal
A quality essentially requisite in forming the character of an efficient officer, since it comprehends ardour for the service, prompt obedience to orders, cheerful disposition, and a studious application to professional science.
Suggested Resources
ZEAL
What does ZEAL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the ZEAL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
ZEAL
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Zeal is ranked #120901 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Zeal surname appeared 143 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Zeal.
92.3% or 132 total occurrences were White.
6.2% or 9 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for zeal »
laze
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of zeal in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of zeal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of zeal in a Sentence
Peter exercised a zeal which was unregulated by knowledge
His zeal for pandering for the extreme left's money and agenda in his race for governor is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general.
There is no zeal blinder than that which is inspired with a love of justice against offenders.
The peopling of North America is one of those things that has been for many years very contentious and a lot of archeologists hold views with almost religious zeal, one of the problems is that there is very few data points.
Zeal without knowledge is fire without light.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for zeal
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- حماسArabic
- zelCatalan, Valencian
- horlivostCzech
- selogrwydd, sêlWelsh
- iverDanish
- Eifer, BegeisterungGerman
- fervoroEsperanto
- entusiasmo, celo, fervor, ahíncoSpanish
- kiihko, intohimo, intoFinnish
- zèle, assiduitéFrench
- díograisIrish
- eudScottish Gaelic
- उत्साहHindi
- zeloInterlingua
- zeloItalian
- להטHebrew
- 熱情, 熱意Japanese
- ಹುರುಪುKannada
- diwysykterCornish
- studiumLatin
- geestdrift, ijverDutch
- engasjement, iverNorwegian
- zapałPolish
- zeloPortuguese
- zel, ardoareRomanian
- усердие, рвениеRussian
- nit, iverSwedish
- ஆர்வத்துடன்Tamil
- ఉత్సాహాన్నిTelugu
- hırs, şevk, hevesTurkish
- حوصلہ افزائیUrdu
- 热情Chinese
Get even more translations for zeal »
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