Standard Lemma guide

zealous

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈzɛləs/
  • UK, US, obsolete: /ˈziːləs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛləs
  • CMU ARPABET: Z EH1 L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ardent, eager, enthusiastic, fervent, passionate, vehement, zealotic

Antonyms: apathetic, dispassionate, indifferent, unenthusiastic

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

marked by active interest and enthusiasm

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an avid sports fan

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: avid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *yeh2-der. Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos)der. Latin zēlus Proto-Indo-European *h3ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h3édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Latin zēlōsusder. Middle English zelose English zealous From Middle English zelose, from Latin zēlōsus, from zēlus + -ōsus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”). By surface analysis, zeal + -ous. Doublet of jealous.

Across languages

Translations

77 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: ywerig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Arabic: مُتَحَمِّس (mutaḥammis) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Arabic: حَمَاسِيّ (ḥamāsiyy) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Armenian: եռանդուն (eṙandun) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Armenian: փութաջան (pʻutʻaǰan) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Bulgarian: ревностен (revnosten) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Bulgarian: усърден (usǎrden) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Catalan: zelós — full of zeal; ardent
  • Cherokee: ᎤᏚᎩᎠᏓᏕᎵᏎᏗ (udugiadadelisedi) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熱心 /热心 (rèxīn) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 狂熱 /狂热 (kuángrè) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Cornish: diwysyk — full of zeal; ardent
  • Czech: horlivý — full of zeal; ardent
  • Danish: ivrig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Danish: entusiastisk — full of zeal; ardent
  • Dutch: ijverig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Dutch: vlijtig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Esperanto: fervora — full of zeal; ardent
  • Estonian: agar — full of zeal; ardent
  • Estonian: innukas — full of zeal; ardent
  • Finnish: intohimoinen — full of zeal; ardent
  • Finnish: innokas — full of zeal; ardent
  • French: zélé — full of zeal; ardent
  • Galician: celoso — full of zeal; ardent
  • Georgian: გულმოდგინე (gulmodgine) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Georgian: გულანთებული (gulantebuli) — full of zeal; ardent
  • German: eifrig — full of zeal; ardent
  • German: begeistert — full of zeal; ardent
  • Ancient Greek: πρόθυμος (próthumos) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Hindi: उत्साही (utsāhī) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Hungarian: buzgó — full of zeal; ardent
  • Ido: zelanta — full of zeal; ardent
  • Ido: zeloza — full of zeal; ardent
  • Interlingua: zelose — full of zeal; ardent
  • Irish: dúthrachtach — full of zeal; ardent
  • Italian: zelante — full of zeal; ardent
  • Japanese: 熱心な (nesshin-na) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Central Kurdish: پەروەر (perwer) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Latin: studiōsus — full of zeal; ardent
  • Latin: ardēns — full of zeal; ardent
  • Latin: ācer — full of zeal; ardent
  • Lithuanian: pavydus — full of zeal; ardent
  • Māori: ngākaunui — full of zeal; ardent
  • Māori: whiwhita — full of zeal; ardent
  • Māori: whitawhita — full of zeal; ardent
  • Māori: ngangahau — full of zeal; ardent
  • Norwegian: engasjert — full of zeal; ardent
  • Norwegian: ivrig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Norwegian: nidkjær — full of zeal; ardent
  • Norwegian: flittig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Polish: zagorzały — full of zeal; ardent
  • Polish: żarliwy — full of zeal; ardent
  • Polish: zapamiętały — full of zeal; ardent
  • Portuguese: zeloso — full of zeal; ardent
  • Russian: рья́ный (rʹjányj) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Russian: усе́рдный (usérdnyj) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Russian: ре́вностный (révnostnyj) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Scots: guidwillt — full of zeal; ardent
  • Scottish Gaelic: dian — full of zeal; ardent
  • Scottish Gaelic: dealasach — full of zeal; ardent
  • Serbo-Croatian: gorljiv — full of zeal; ardent
  • Spanish: celoso — full of zeal; ardent
  • Spanish: ahincado — full of zeal; ardent
  • Spanish: afanoso — full of zeal; ardent
  • Spanish: zeloso — full of zeal; ardent
  • Sranan Tongo: fayafaya — full of zeal; ardent
  • Swedish: ivrig — full of zeal; ardent
  • Swedish: hänförd — full of zeal; ardent
  • Swedish: entusiastisk — full of zeal; ardent
  • Swedish: nitisk — full of zeal; ardent
  • Swedish: hängiven — full of zeal; ardent
  • Tagalog: salurapa — full of zeal; ardent
  • Thai: กระตือรือร้น (grà-dtʉʉ-rʉʉ-rón) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Thai: กระเหี้ยนกระหือรือ — full of zeal; ardent
  • Tocharian B: spelkkessu — full of zeal; ardent
  • Ottoman Turkish: حرارتلو (hararetli) — full of zeal; ardent
  • Welsh: selog — full of zeal; ardent