From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishzealotzeal‧ot /ˈzelət/ noun [countable] EXTREMEsomeone who has extremely strong beliefs, especially religious or political beliefs, and is too eager to make other people share them religious zealots —zealotry noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
zealot• Anti-abortion zealots are responsible for the bombing of the clinic.• Like fanatics and zealots everywhere, they want to disrupt any attempts at a modus vivendi or reconciliation.• A few zealots strongly objected to the proposed sale of alcohol at the local store.• Catholics, he preached, trained blind and furious zealots to butcher and scalp Protestants.• anti-government zealots• A handful of zealots at bus stops manipulates Belfast workers who are freshly aware of possible bombings on urban streets.• Only zealots think one solution fits every case.• But statistics were not at the heart of the thing except for the occasional schoolboy or zealot.• Yet, the Republican Party is being held hostage by the religious zealots.• The dogma is of absolutes, the lifestyle is of attempted purity and the zealot is subject to continuous derision.Origin zealot (1500-1600) Late Latin zelotes, from Greek zelos; → ZEAL 