zeal
- 01 C1 Advanced
great energy and effort that you show when you support a particular idea or goal.
fervent devotion or tireless enthusiasm in the furtherance of a cause, ideal, or goal. Uncountable in its abstract sense.
Simple“His zeal for protecting the environment led him to start a local recycling project.”
In context“The young reformer pursued his legislative agenda with a missionary zeal that both inspired his supporters and exhausted his staff.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'for'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
the special name for a group of zebras.
a collective noun used specifically to refer to a group of zebras.
Simple“We watched a zeal of zebras gathering at the water hole during the safari.”
In context“The documentary captured the moment a zeal of zebras began their annual migration across the plains.”
Teacher's tipThis is a whimsical collective noun; in everyday speech, 'herd' is much more common.
Synonyms
“Whereas, throughout the 18th century, people tended to define zeal as ‘excessive or immoderate enthusiasm’, she praised the ‘Zealot’, who was ‘warm and assiduous’ and ‘stiff and narrow-Spirited’.”
“The five children carried their box-shaped Kodak Brownie cameras everywhere , capturing pictures of each other, their parents and their surroundings with a zeal unmatched by Europe’s other royal houses .”
From Middle English zele, from Old French zel, from Late Latin zēlus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to search”). Related to jealous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.