different between zealous vs sportive

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

English

Etymology

From sport +? -ive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sp??(?)t?v/

Adjective

sportive (comparative more sportive, superlative most sportive)

1. (archaic) lively; merry; spritely
2. Playful, coltish.
3. Interested in sport.
4. Sporty, good at sport.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

sportive (plural sportives)

1. (cycling) cyclosportive
   • 2012, July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track

     Such incidents, part of the cherished mythology of the Tour's early years, are rare in modern cycling, although a 62-year-old local councillor was arrested and subsequently released after tacks had been scattered during the 2009 Etape Caledonia, a sportive held on closed roads in Scotland, causing countless punctures among the 3,500 riders.

Anagrams

• overtips, pivoters, repivots, sorptive, tip overs

French

Adjective

sportive

1. feminine singular of sportif

Noun

sportive f (plural sportives)

1. sportswoman

Further reading

• “sportive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

sportive

1. inflection of sportiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ive

Adjective

sportive f pl

1. feminine plural of sportivo

Noun

sportive f

1. plural of sportiva

Anagrams

• previsto, proviste