televangelist

noun

an evangelist who regularly conducts religious services on television.

Origin:
1980–85; blend of television and evangelist

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Collins

World English Dictionary

televangelist (ˌtɛlɪˈvændʒəlɪst)

—n
	(US) an evangelical preacher who appears regularly on television, preaching the gospel and appealing for donations from viewers

[C20: from tele(vision) + (e)vangelist]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Relevant Questions

What Are Televangelists?

00:10

Televangelist is always a great word to know.

So is slumgullion. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

televangelist

1973, from tele(vision) + evangelist. The earliest record of the word in OED is a reference to Rex Humbard in a "New York Times" article of July 26, 1973.

Matching Quote

"In full view of his television audience, he preached a new religion—or a new form of Christianity—based on faith in financial miracles and in a Heaven here on earth with a water slide and luxury hotels. It was a religion of celebrity and showmanship and fun, which made a mockery of all puritanical standards and all canons of good taste. Its standard was excess, and its doctrines were tolerance and freedom from accountability."

-unknown author

Use Dictionary.com faster without ads >>

televangelist

tel·e·van·ge·list