Meaning & use
evangelist
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Meanings
nouncountablereligion
A person who travels or speaks publicly to spread Christian teachings.
Grammar: Often applied to preachers on TV or at large events.
Patterns
- a TV evangelist
The evangelist filled the stadium every night.
A traveling evangelist visited the village.
She became an evangelist after studying at a mission.
nouncountablereligion
One of the four writers of the Gospels in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Grammar: Usually capitalized with names: Luke the Evangelist.
Patterns
- the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is said to have written the shortest Gospel.
The window shows the four evangelists.
The church is named for John the Evangelist.
nouncountablefigurative
A person who is very enthusiastic in promoting a product, idea or cause.
Grammar: Often a job title in technology companies.
Patterns
- an evangelist for something
He is a tireless evangelist for cycling.
The company hired a software evangelist.
She is an evangelist for healthy eating.
Word forms
| plural | evangelists |
|---|
Common combinations
- TV evangelist
- The TV evangelist asked viewers to donate.
- tech evangelist
- A tech evangelist spoke at the conference.
- an evangelist for
- She is an evangelist for open-source code.
- traveling evangelist
- A traveling evangelist set up a tent in town.
- become an evangelist
- After the trip, he became an evangelist for the brand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- preacher
- Preacher is any person who gives religious sermons, while evangelist specifically spreads the Christian message.
- missionary
- Missionary suggests living abroad to spread a faith, whereas evangelist can work at home.
- advocate
- Advocate is a neutral word for someone who supports a cause, without the zeal of an evangelist.
- champion
- Champion suggests defending a cause strongly, while evangelist suggests spreading it eagerly.
Opposites
Word family
- evangelism noun
- the spreading of Christian teaching, or enthusiastic promotion
- evangelize verb
- to preach or spread something
- evangelical adjective
- relating to a Protestant movement, or zealous
- evangelistic adjective
- relating to evangelists
Commonly confused: evangelist or evangelical?
evangelist vs evangelical
Evangelical is an adjective describing a kind of Christian faith, while evangelist is a person.
Practice
The software company hired a(n) ____ to travel around promoting its new product with great enthusiasm.
Choose one answer.
In business, an evangelist enthusiastically promotes a product. An auditor and an inspector check things, and a critic judges them.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “evangelist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.