Definition of "messianism" [messianism]

• Belief in a messiah. (noun)
• Belief that a particular cause or movement is destined to triumph or save the world. (noun)
• Zealous devotion to a leader, cause, or movement. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Traditional religious Zionism of the Mizrahi school of thought, which sought the middle way between loyalty to tradition and avoiding the path to possible false messianism, is being eroded between the contradictory interpretations of Neturei Karta and Rabbi Wolpe."
• "They call it "messianism," and it jars them in a way that the tendency toward doublethink and condescension that are the most frequent symptoms of the Hillarite manifestation of the disorder doesn't."
• "However, I agree with you totally on the "messianism" of some vocal, blog-active Obama supporters."