zealotry
Blinding ideological fervor
Zealotry is excessive or fanatical devotion to a cause, belief, or ideology.
Where zeal suggests passionate enthusiasm, zealotry implies that passion has crossed into dangerous territory—rigid, uncompromising, deaf to reason: religious zealotry, political zealotry.
The word carries strong negative connotations, suggesting someone whose fervor has overwhelmed their judgment.
Obsessive, unreasoning dedication
- radicalismPursuit of sweeping change
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- militancyCombative advocacy stance
- dogmatismUnyielding adherence to doctrine
sectarianism · jihadism · puritanism · ultraconservatism · absolutism · totalitarianism · authoritarianism · nativism
Unwillingness to accept differences
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- chauvinismMilitant devotion to group
jingoism · sectarianism · ethnocentrism · supremacism · nativism · parochialism · tribalism · narrow-mindedness
Forceful emotional passion
- fervorIntense emotional intensity
- ardorIntense emotional warmth
- passionIntense emotional drive
- fiercenessIntense aggressive quality
forcefulness · fire · eagerness · vigor · ferocity · relentlessness · obsession · monomania
Intense emotional intensity
- pietySincere religious devotion
- faithTrust without proof
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
commitment · allegiance · reverence · veneration · ardor · devoutness · piousness · earnestness
fanaticism
Obsessive, unreasoning dedication
- radicalismPursuit of sweeping change
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- militancyCombative advocacy stance
dogmatism · sectarianism · jihadism · puritanism · ultraconservatism · absolutism · totalitarianism · authoritarianism · nativism · supremacism
intolerance
Unwillingness to accept differences
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
chauvinism · jingoism · sectarianism · ethnocentrism · supremacism · nativism · parochialism · tribalism · narrow-mindedness · discrimination
vehemence
Forceful emotional passion
fierceness · forcefulness · fire · eagerness · vigor · ferocity · relentlessness · obsession · monomania · single-mindedness
fervor
Intense emotional intensity
dedication · commitment · allegiance · reverence · veneration · ardor · devoutness · piousness · earnestness · passion
- intense emotionsrage, fury, wrath, anger, hatred
- cultismcult, sect, brainwashing, indoctrination, fanaticism
- fanaticismfanaticism, fanatic, extremism, extremist, fervor
- fundamentalismfundamentalism, inerrancy, literalism, dogmatism, strict interpretation
- narrow-mindednessnarrow-mindedness, narrowness, close-mindedness, closed-mindedness, close-minded
- radicalismradical, extremism, radicalism, militancy, fanaticism
zealotrymoderation
Avoidance of excess
moderateness · temperance · restraint · balance · equanimity
zealotrytolerance
Willingness to accept difference
open-mindedness · broad-mindedness · pluralism · ecumenism · inclusiveness
zealotryapathy
Absence of feeling
indifference · dispassion · detachment · nonchalance · unconcern