zeal

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ziːl/ UK /ziːl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective

He pursued the reform with the zeal of a true believer.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · great energy or enthusiasm... enthusiasm fervor ardor passion eagerness devotion

Opposites

apathy indifference listlessness

Word family

Derived forms zealous zealotzealotry

Related forms jealous

Simplified etymology

Zeal, recorded from the late Middle English period, ultimately comes from Greek zēlos. The same Greek word passed through medieval Latin zelosus and Old French gelos to produce jealous.

Etymology

From Late Latin zēlus ('zeal, ardor'), from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, 'eager rivalry, jealousy, ardor').

zēlus Latin ζῆλος Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# zeal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ziːl/
**IPA (UK):** /ziːl/

## Meanings
1. great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective

## Examples
- He pursued the reform with the zeal of a true believer.

## Synonyms
- enthusiasm
- fervor
- ardor
- passion
- eagerness
- devotion

## Antonyms
- apathy
- indifference
- listlessness

## Derived Forms
- zealous
- zealot
- zealotry

## Related Forms
- jealous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: zēlus
- Root: ζῆλος

## Etymology
From Late Latin zēlus ('zeal, ardor'), from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, 'eager rivalry, jealousy, ardor').

## AI Etymology
zeal comes from Late Latin zēlus ('zeal, ardor'), from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, 'eager rivalry, jealousy, ardor'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as jealous and derivatives such as zealous, zealot, zealotry, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin zēlus, Ancient Greek ζῆλος, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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