zeal

[zeel] /zil/
noun
1.
fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English zele < Late Latin zēlus < Greek zêlos
Related forms
zealless, adjective
underzeal, noun
Synonyms
intensity, passion.
Antonyms
apathy.
Examples from the web for zeal
  • Lake took to the challenge of exposing fakes with the same zeal he's shown in hoarding miniature liquor bottles.
  • With the zeal of one who reviles an age-old wrong, he raised painting above poetry.
  • In his political zeal he was not always scrupulous as to historical accuracy.
  • zeal, however, must not outrun discretion in changing abstract to concrete.
  • The stream of zeal sparkles with real fire, and not with reflex rays of sun and moon.
  • The city has a zeal for barreling toward the future while always looking back.
  • His own reformist zeal has never extended to issues of political control.
  • Unfortunately, this new deflation-busting zeal may be nothing more than a reformist fad that mistakes a symptom for the disease.
  • Over time, the zeal to sell big-enough chunks of these firms to enable them to become more independent has dissipated.
  • His principal charge is incompetence, and this he pursues with the zeal of a prosecutor.
British Dictionary definitions for zeal

zeal

/ziːl/
noun
1.
fervent or enthusiastic devotion, often extreme or fanatical in nature, as to a religious movement, political cause, ideal, or aspiration
Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin zēlus, from Greek zēlos
Word Origin and History for zeal
n.

late 14c., from Late Latin zelus "zeal, emulation" (source of Old French zel, Italian zelo, Spanish celo), a Church word, from Greek zelos "zeal, ardor, jealousy," which is of uncertain origin.

zeal in the Bible

an earnest temper; may be enlightened (Num. 25:11-13; 2 Cor. 7:11; 9:2), or ignorant and misdirected (Rom. 10:2; Phil. 3:6). As a Christian grace, it must be grounded on right principles and directed to right ends (Gal. 4:18). It is sometimes ascribed to God (2 Kings 19:31; Isa. 9:7; 37:32; Ezek. 5:13).