zealous
zeal·ous/ˈzɛləs/adjective
zealous is spelled Z-E-A-L-O-U-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (zeal·ous). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, zealous means “Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in zealous?
| Letters | 7: Z-E-A-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: zeal·ous |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is zealous?
Zealous appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce zealous?
- US /ˈzɛləs/
- US /ˈziːləs/
Zealous has 2 syllables, split zeal·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-zealous.ogg, En-au-zealous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with zealous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as zealous from its last stressed vowel (/ɛləs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of zealous
- more zealous comparative
- most zealous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zealous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion, particularly in matters of religion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Zealous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense full of zeal; ardent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | zélé |
| German | eifrig, begeistert |
| Portuguese | zeloso |
| Spanish | celoso, ahincado, afanoso, zeloso, zelote, zelota |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does zealous come from?
From Middle English zelose, from Latin zēlōsus, from zēlus + -ōsus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”). By surface analysis, zeal + -ous. Doublet of jealous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).