Jesus freak
4
9.9
- noun
- /ˈdʒiːzəs friːk/
- Slur
:
fanático cristiano
- The Jesus freak at school organized community service events to spread love and kindness among students.
Examples
-
She identifies as a Jesus freak because of her passionate commitment to sharing her faith with everyone.
-
Maybe the Jesus freaks were right.
-
I never want those fucking Jesus-freaks back in this house again.
Fiction book (1993) -
So Tommy's really into this Jesus freak thing, huh?
-
As it turned out, the guy beside me wasn't a Chassid or a Jesus freak.
Academic text (2012) -
Some environmentalists remind me of preachers and Jesus freaks; I know a lot about all three.
Blog text (32) -
Only the Jesus freaks last in that role because it's just too much work to try to persuade or work against the grain of a classroom majority.
Blog text (21) -
A lonely, inadequate man, a Jesus freak who is probably living off his parents and dying to connect with someone, anyone, even Joe (81, my emphasis).
Academic text (2009) -
Many people call him a Jesus freak for his enthusiastic discussions about Christianity on social media.
Synonyms
8
4.3
Showing very strong enthusiasm for a cause in a way that ignores reason
Antonyms
How Devout
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally built from 'Jesus' (the Christian figure) + 'freak' (someone fanatical or extremely enthusiastic); the productive pattern X-freak routinely creates meanings like 'someone obsessive about X'. While the phrase can carry a pejorative or colloquial tone, a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Jesus freak may come from words used in the 1960s, when freak meant someone who was very into something. Young people who loudly showed love for Jesus, for example by praying in public or handing out leaflets, were called Jesus freaks, so the phrase now means 'a person who is very religious and speaks openly about their Christian faith'.