Zealotize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To turn a person into an ardent, uncompromising supporter of a cause, faction or belief system
2. To inflame someone with fanatical devotion so that they become a passionate and unyielding partisan
3. To render a follower overly zealous, making them fervent and intolerant in advancing a particular creed or movement

Etymology: The verb is built from "zealot" plus the suffix "-ize," which came through Latin "-izare" from Greek "-izein" and was used to form verbs meaning "make into" or "act like." The base word traces to Greek "zēlōtēs," meaning an emulator or eager follower, from "zēloun," to emulate or strive after. Its root, "zēlos," carried a sense of rivalrous ardour rather than religious fervour. Late Latin "zelotes" carried the word into European languages, where the sense narrowed toward a partisan devotee. To zealotize someone is to fill them with that uncompromising ardour, turning a cause's followers into its fiercest partisans. The suffix does the work here: it turns a person who is already a zealot into an act of making others zealous.