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evangelist

evangelist

9 5.7
A person who strongly promotes a product or idea so other people will accept it
  • noun
  • /ɪˈvæn.dʒə.lɪst/
  • Jargon
translation icon : evangelista
  • His role as a product evangelist allowed him to share his enthusiasm for cutting-edge technology with potential clients.
  • chief evangelist
  • become evangelists
  • evangelists for the brand

As you know, I'm an evangelist on sleep.

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Examples

  • I think we need new technology to deal with climate, but we should be evangelists for new technology in general, not Luddites.

  • Rick Smolan, photographer and data evangelist, Rick Smolan's larger-than-life photographs capture deeper meaning in everyday moments.

    Blog text (6)
  • Did you have an evangelist of some sort speak to the team this year and last?

  • Believe every single word you heard from the Apple evangelist in your life, because holy balls does this thing ever look incredible.

  • As you know, I'm an evangelist on sleep.

  • He was the chief evangelist of Apple twice with Steve Jobs.

  • You will likely find yourself in the role of chief encourager and evangelist, but the results will be well worth the effort.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Well, I guess he's the Bitcoin Jesus, Bitcoin evangelist and Angel investor and a major figure in the Bitcoin world.

  • New networks of evangelists are arising amidst the rubble of older forms of church each year.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Wallis, currently a Kasabi technology evangelist, is launching his own semantic web consultancy this month.

    Blog text (27)

Synonyms

advocate
vsevangelist
282 4.1

A person who supports a cause or policy in public

is more active and promotional about products or technologies
proponent
vsevangelist
104 5.2

A person who supports an idea, plan, or cause

adds energetic, often public promotion aimed at business audiences
marketer
vsevangelist
92 3.5

A person who helps companies sell products or services

focuses more on enthusiastic advocacy for ideas and technologies
booster
vsevangelist
37 3.2

A person who supports and promotes a team, player, or cause

tends to be more targeted to selling ideas in professional settings
promoter
vsevangelist
31 4.2

A person who supports and encourages a cause or idea

often describes planned promotion focused on products or technologies
influencer
vsevangelist
  • Texting
19 3.8

A person with many followers on social media who gets paid to promote products or ideas

promotes ideas more as committed supporters within business or tech
apostle
vsevangelist
7 6.0

A person who strongly supports and helps spread a new idea or cause early on

applies that passion specifically to business or technology advocacy
pitchman
vsevangelist
  • US
5 6.8

A man who sells products by talking and showing them to people, often at fairs or on TV

uses persuasive energy similarly but for promoting ideas or tech
marketeer
vsevangelist
  • UK
3 4.6

A person who promotes and sells products or services for companies

leans more toward passionate idea advocacy rather than direct selling
proselytizer
vsevangelist
  • US
2 8.9

A person who tries to convince others to follow a religion or belief

uses similar persuasion but targets commercial or technical adoption
evangelizer
vsevangelist
1 7.1

A person who strongly promotes a product, idea, or cause

focuses more on promoting within business or technology contexts
plugger
vsevangelist
1 7.8

A person who actively promotes a cause or idea

is similar but usually tied to business or technology missions
proclaimer
vsevangelist
1 5.9

A person who publicly tells others about religious beliefs

is more about active promotion to persuade business or technical audiences
espouser
vsevangelist
  • Formal
7.8

A person who supports and promotes an idea or cause

is more about vigorous promotion to secure business or tech uptake
extoller
vsevangelist
9.6

A person who praises something strongly in public

is more about actively convincing people to adopt ideas or tools
spruik
vsevangelist
  • Australian
9.9

A person who loudly promotes goods or events to attract people

shares loud enthusiasm but aims at business or tech advocacy

Antonyms

563 3.0

A person who often finds fault and speaks harshly about others

3.4

On the other side in a fight, game, or argument

Compounds

A Christian writer traditionally said to have written the Gospel of Luke and Acts

How Enthusiastic

zealot
  • Offensive
38 8.1
evangelist
  • Jargon
9 5.7
advocate
282 4.1
supporter
817 1.0

Surface Forms

evangelist singular
evangelists plural

Morphology

evangelist = evangel (semi-transparent) = evangel + ist

The agentive '-ist' signals a promoter/advocate, but the metaphorical extension from religious 'evangel' to secular promotion may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Evangelist comes from Greek parts eu- ('good') and angelos ('messenger'), so it originally meant a 'good messenger'. That's why today a business or tech evangelist is a passionate promoter who spreads the 'good news' about a product or idea to win people over.