Zeal

n. [Fr. zèle, Sp., Pg., & It. zelo, from Lat. zelus, Gr. ζῆλος, zeal, jealousy.]

1Sense 1. Passionate ardor in the pursuit of any thing; eagerness in favor of a person or cause; ardent and active interest; engagedness. “Ambition varnished o’er with zeal.” Milton. “Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.” Dryden.

They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Rom. x. 2.

A zeal for liberty is sometimes an eagerness to subvert, with little care, what shall be established. Johnson.

2Sense 2. A zealot. [Obs. and rare.] B. Jonson.