zealot
noun
[ ˈzɛlət ]
• a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.
Similar:
fanatic,
enthusiast,
extremist,
radical,
Young Turk,
diehard,
activist,
militant,
bigot,
dogmatist,
sectarian,
partisan,
fiend,
maniac,
ultra,
nut,
• a member of an ancient Jewish sect that aimed at a world Jewish theocracy and resisted the Romans until AD 70.
Origin:
late Middle English (as an epithet of the apostle Simon): via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek zēlōtēs, from zēloun ‘be zealous’, from zēlos (see zeal).
