different between devoted vs zealous

English

Etymology

From devote +? -ed.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??v??t?d/

Verb

devoted

1. simple past tense and past participle of devote

Adjective

devoted (comparative more devoted, superlative most devoted)

1. Vowed; dedicated; consecrated.
2. Strongly emotionally attached; very fond of someone or something.

   Bob and Sara are devoted to their children.

3. Zealous; characterized by devotion.
4. (obsolete) Cursed; doomed.
   • 1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford 2010, p. 31:

     The attendance of that brother was now become like the attendance of a demon on some devoted being that had sold himself to destruction […].

   • 1828, Washington Irving, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, book 1:

     They had recently considered themselves devoted men, hurrying forwards to destruction; they now looked upon themselves as favorites of fortune, and gave themselves up to the most unbounded joy.

Derived terms

• devotedly
• devotedness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• zelous

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ????? (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ????? (z?ló?, “to emulate, to be jealous”). Doublet of jealous.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?z?l.?s/
• Rhymes: -?l?s
• Hyphenation: zeal?ous

Adjective

zealous (comparative more zealous, superlative most zealous)

1. Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion.
   • 1791, James Boswell, The life of Samuel Johnson, new ed. (1831) by John Wilson Croker, volume 1, page 238:

     Johnson was truly zealous for the success of "The Adventurer;" and very soon after his engaging in it, he wrote the following letter:

   • 1896, Andrew Dickson White, A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (2004 edition), page 122:

     Doubtless many will exclaim against the Roman Catholic Church for this; but the simple truth is that Protestantism was no less zealous against the new scientific doctrine.

   • 1940, Foster Rhea Dulles, America Learns to Play: A history of popular recreation, 1607-1940, page 61:

     […] and there were few more zealous dancers at the fashionable balls in the Raleigh Tavern at Williamsburg.

   • 2011 April 4, "Newt Gingrich," Time (retrieved 9 Sept 2013):

     Newt Gingrich . . . left Congress in 1998, following GOP midterm-election losses that many blamed on his zealous pursuit of Bill Clinton's impeachment.

Synonyms

• (full of zeal): ardent, eager, enthusiastic, fervent, passionate, zealotic

Antonyms

• (full of zeal): apathetic, dispassionate, indifferent, unenthusiastic

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations