ardor suggests warm and excited feeling likely to be fitful or short-lived.
the ardor of their honeymoon soon faded
enthusiasm applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity.
never showed much enthusiasm for sports
zeal implies energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause.
preaches with fanatical zeal
Examples of zeal in a Sentence
… he was uncomfortable with their lavish parties and their collector's zeal for the most expensive, most ostentatious brand names—Rolex and Prada and Farragamo.—Anne Tyler, Digging to America, 2006In 1248, channelling his piety into crusading zeal, Louis embarked on the Seventh Crusade, against the wishes of the Pope and against the judgement of his counsellors.—Alistair Horne, Seven Ages of Paris, 2002He showed his anatomical zeal by robbing a wayside gibbet, smuggling the bones back home and reconstructing the skeleton.—Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, 1997
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Community surveys identified the kitchen, which can be leased, as a priority for a neighborhood with a growing refugee and immigrant population and some entrepreneurial zeal.—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 13 Apr. 2025 Shotwell, who’s become a billionaire thanks to investors’ zeal for the company, believes Starship will take the company’s valuation higher still.—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025 The lesson drawn and instilled by his family was that the Gentile zeal for Jewish death is implacable and that only Jewish strength in a Jewish land can oppose it.—David Bezmozgis, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025 In his zeal to field a contender, Adams had created an all-or-nothing scenario for the 1993 season.—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for zeal
Word History
Etymology
Middle English zele, from Late Latin zelus, from Greek zēlos
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