evangelize
/ɪˈvænd͡ʒəlaɪz/
evangelize means to tell people about (a particular branch of) Christianity, especially in order to convert them; to preach the gospel to. It carries an Arena rating of 1693, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
evangelize is pronounced /ɪˈvænd͡ʒəlaɪz/.
Why “evangelize” is a great word
To preach a doctrine or cause, particularly the Christian gospel, with the aim of converting others or inspiring fervent support. From Old French évangéliser, from Late Latin evangelizare, from Ancient Greek εὐαγγελίζω (euangelízō, “to bring good news”). First attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike “proselytize,” which suggests a targeted campaign of recruitment, or “promote,” a secular and transactional advocacy, to evangelize is to carry a specific truth with missionary fervor. It is the voice rising in a tent revival, the pamphlet pressed into a stranger’s hand, the zealous glow in a speaker’s eyes—the human impulse to not merely possess a saving idea, but to urgently deliver it as a form of light meant to warm another.
Etymology
From Old French évangéliser, equivalent to evangel + -ize, from Late Latin evangelizare, from Ancient Greek εὐαγγελίζω (euangelízō). Displaced native Old English godspellian (literally “to gospel”).
verb
- To tell people about (a particular branch of) Christianity, especially in order to convert them; to preach the gospel to.“his Apoſtles, whom he ſends To evangelize the Nations”
- To preach any ideology to those who have not yet been converted to it.“[…] nor is it the task of the Muslim to "evangelize" the unbelieving world.”
- To be enthusiastic about something, and to attempt to share that enthusiasm with others; to promote.