What does evangelized mean?
"Evangelized" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "evangelize," which means to preach the Christian gospel to people with the intention of converting them. In its religious sense, the word has been used for centuries to describe missionary work, as when apostles or missionaries evangelized entire regions. Over time, the verb broadened into secular use: one can be evangelized by an idea, a technology, or a movement, meaning won over enthusiastically and converted into an advocate. This figurative use is especially common in business and tech writing, where executives speak of evangelizing customers or employees, sometimes with a hint of irony about missionary zeal applied to products. The word carries connotations of fervent conviction and active persuasion, implying more than mere agreement — the evangelized are expected to spread the message themselves. Derived ultimately from Greek roots meaning "bringing good news," it shares ancestry with "gospel," "evangelist," and "evangelical."
verbPast tense and past participle of "evangelize": to preach the Christian gospel to someone with the aim of converting them; more broadly, to convert or win over someone enthusiastically to a cause, belief, or way of doing things.
- Preached the Christian gospel to people with the aim of converting them.
- Converted or won someone over enthusiastically to a cause, idea, or practice outside religion.
"Missionaries evangelized the remote villages along the coast in the early nineteenth century."
"Paul's letters suggest he evangelized communities across the eastern Mediterranean."
"Silicon Valley engineers evangelized the smartphone until it reshaped daily life worldwide."
The word "evangelize" traces back to Greek for bringing "good news" — the very root that gave English the word "gospel" itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of evangelized
The word derives from the Late Latin "evangelizare," itself from Greek "euangelizesthai," meaning "to bring good news," from "eu-" (good) and "angelos" (messenger). It entered English in the late Middle Ages through ecclesiastical Latin, initially in strictly religious contexts. The same Greek root gave rise to Old English "godspel" — literally "good news" — which became the modern word "gospel." Cognates include "evangelist," "evangelical," and "evangelism."
Related word forms
How evangelized is actually used
Primarily religious in register but widely used figuratively in business and technology writing, where it often carries a tone of zealous advocacy, sometimes mildly ironic. The spelling "evangelised" appears in British English.
Easily confused with evangelized
"Evangelical" is an adjective describing a Protestant tradition emphasizing the gospel and personal conversion, while "evangelized" is the past form of the verb meaning to have preached or converted someone.