Zealotizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of fervently promoting or advocating a belief or cause with extreme passion and often without regard to opposing views
2. The process of adopting or encouraging an intense, uncompromising enthusiasm for a particular ideology or movement
3. Engaging in the vigorous and sometimes fanatical endorsement or spread of a set of principles or doctrines with unwavering dedication

Etymology: Zealotizing is a formation from "zealot," which entered English in the 1500s from ecclesiastical Late Latin "zelotes," borrowed from Greek "zēlōtēs," meaning "emulator" or "one who is zealous," from "zēloun," "to strive after." The Greek sense was neutral or even admiring, but the word took on a harsher edge in Jewish history: the Zealots were a first-century militant group who fought Rome and resisted it to the end, and the term became a byword for fanatical partisanship. Zealotizing is the verb form, built with the suffix "-ize" (from Greek "-izein," used to form verbs meaning "to make or act like") and the continuous ending "-ing." It describes acting in the manner of a zealot, pursuing a cause with unbending, often combative enthusiasm. The verb is far rarer than "zealous" or "zealotry," and it appears mainly in writing that wants to stress the fervor of someone's advocacy rather than its content.

Synonyms: fanaticizing, radicalizing, zealous promoting

Antonyms: moderating, calming, appeasing