zealot
/ˈzɛl.ət/
"zealot" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zealot” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,735 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #52,735
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who is zealous, one who is full of zeal for their own specific beliefs or objectives, usually in the negative sense of being too passionate; a fanatic.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zealot |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈzɛl.ət/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #52,735 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zealot” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for zealot is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈzɛl.ət/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,735 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for zealot, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Initially only found as Middle English zelote, an epithet of Simon the Zealot, acquiring its current senses in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Middle English derives from Latin zēlōtēs, from Ancient Greek ζηλωτής (zēlōtḗs, “emulator, zealous admirer, follo… The correct English form is zealot, spelled Z-E-A-L-O-T.
Definition
- 1One who is zealous, one who is full of zeal for their own specific beliefs or objectives, usually in the negative sense of being too passionate; a fanatic.
- 2A member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent in the first century, who advocated the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisted the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to convert the Jews.
- 3A member of an anti-aristocratic political group in Thessalonica from 1342 until 1350.
Etymology
Initially only found as Middle English zelote, an epithet of Simon the Zealot, acquiring its current senses in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Middle English derives from Latin zēlōtēs, from Ancient Greek ζηλωτής (zēlōtḗs, “emulator, zealous admirer, follower”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”), from ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “zealot”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Z-E-A-L-O-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈzɛl.ət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.